Passionate Drunks
by irisbloom95
Summary: Serenity owes Seto big time and when she quits her job as an assistant attorney at the prestigious law firm in NYC, Seto offers her a job as his personal secretary. Of course with the past they've shared, working together will prove to be a challenge. Can the two overcome their past feelings and work towards a meaningful relationship or will it all come to an end? *SILENTSHIPPING*
1. Chapter 1

I could have fun. I would prove it to them, I wasn't only a 23 year old workaholic who worked at a big law firm in New York City. I knew how to have fun. "Asshole, doesn't know what he's talking about." I muttered under my breath as I splashed some water on my face. I took a deep breath and looked at my face. I was pretty. I had honey brown eyes and nice, long brown hair, of course not many here knew that, I always had my hair tied in a bun. I owned a dozen suits, all in the usual boring colors. Once in a while, I would add a ribbon or a scarf to add a pop of color, but I was always in a suit, except when I was not sleeping.

My phone started buzzing and I looked down at who it was. Jesse. That asshole. "Yes Jesse?" I picked up, annoyed.

"I just wanted to make sure you were coming, unlike last time. Poor Serenity got the chills and bailed on us last Friday night." I could hear the smirk in his voice and I swore that if he were in front of me, I'd smack him.

"I told you what happened last week. I'll meet you and the others at the club in a few. I'm getting ready." I said as I started to apply my makeup.

"Okay, just wanted to make sure, oh and Serenity, try to wear something other than those boring suits you have." Jesse hung up before I could say anything to him. I hated that man. He was always on my ass about everything. What I ate, what I wore, how I worked. I couldn't even say anything to him because he was the head attorney. Damn rich assholes. I made my eyes smoky and put a nice red shade of lipstick on, not a hooker color but definitely something to say it was party night. I stepped out of my bathroom wearing my bra and panty and raided my closet. What to wear? I picked out a short cocktail dress and a pair of black pumps. Perfect. I had the outfit and makeup in place. Nothing was going to stop me from showing those idiots from the office that I could be laid back too and have some fun. I put a blazer over the dress just in case it got cold outside. It was New York, anything could happen.

I grabbed my purse and made sure to lock my apartment. I lived in a nice part of Manhattan. My job as an assistant attorney to a major private law firm ensured me a fat paycheck and with no family, I lived a pricey, nice life. My hard work had paid off, all those sleepless nights studying for exams and all that extra credit work earned me a scholarship to Yale and now I was here. 23 years old and a successful lawyer, what else would a girl want. Except maybe some free time. I hailed a cab down and twenty minutes later, I was downtown, stopping in front of a night club. The place looked packed from the outside and it looked like every young hotshot in town was there for the night.

"Thanks, here." I handed the driver a tip which he graciously accepted and I stepped out into the busy night. The line for the club was long but I knew Jesse already got us VIP access. I told the bouncer Jesse's name and he smiled a toothy smile and let me through. I heard groans and complaints behind me and I smiled to myself and shook my head. Music started flowing into my ears as I descended the steps into the club. Yep, I was right. The place was packed. I knew Jesse would have gotten us a private booth and a hostess came up to me and once I told her Jesse's name, she smiled and told me to follow her. I avoided most of the young drunk people who were already on the dance floor, grinding and doing god knows what.

The flashing lights allowed me to see my other coworkers who were seated at a private booth. Several of them already had drinks. I watched as two of my coworkers took shots and I approached them, smiling.

"You started the party without me?" I said. The crew looked up at me, surprised.

"Wow, I can't believe you made it. Take a seat." Shanaya, an Indian woman roughly my age said. She looked quite hot in a red mini dress with matching heels. She wore bangles in one hand and had a golden nose ring. It made her look authentic.

"Thanks Shanaya, where is Jesse?" I asked as I took my seat. Not that I cared, but I wanted him to see that I was here. I was here and ready to party and prove to them that I was not a bore.

"He went to make a call, he'll be back, want a shot?" I looked at the small shot glass that Shanaya put on the table. I shrugged and picked it up. In one go, I took it. The bitterness of the liquid hit my tongue and burned as it passed through my insides. It was like a wakeup call.

"No stopping, here's another." We continued with another three shots and finally, I started to loosen up. I took my blazer off and placed it to the side.

"You're looking cute, Serenity." One of my coworkers, Ethan, said as he took one of his own.

"Thanks. Say, where's your girlfriend?" Ethan was a one woman kind of guy. He had blue eyes and blonde hair, was fairly tall but very skinny. I had a crush on him when I first started working there but immediately backed off as soon as I found out he was in a long term relationship with his high school sweetheart. The two looked adorable together, there was no hating on Ashley, Ethan's girlfriend. She was just too nice.

"She's at the bar, talking to the bartender. Apparently they are friends from middle school." Ethan kind of slurred his words and I said, "No more for you hon, you're already drunk."

Before he could answer, a hand rested on my shoulder and I looked up to see who it was. "So you actually made it." Jesse said. I looked into his green eyes. He was wearing a suit but his sleeves were rolled up and his dark hair was gelled back. He had a girl with him that I did not recognize. She seemed to cling to him like a leech and I gave her a weird look.

"I've been here for a while now and I'm already partying. Where have you been?" I asked him. He disregarded the girl who stood there awkwardly and took a seat. "I was speaking to a client. Drinks please." Jesse called out to a hostess who was walking by. He placed a quick order and then looked at me. He was head attorney but he wasn't that much older, only about 27, I think. The women in the office claimed they would do anything to sleep with him. I personally didn't get why. He was quite the looker, no denying that with his emerald eyes, fair skin, and dark brown hair, but it was his cocky personality that really ticked me off. He reminded me of someone I knew from my high school back in Domino High.

"So, care to dance?" He asked. I looked at the hand he had outstretched and then back up at him. I wanted to show this guy I could have fun. Why? Because he always teased me. He always said I was too much of a granny to lay back and do something other than work with my life. I worked twice as hard as any of the others to get to where I was today.

"Not now, maybe a little later. Night is still young my friend." I said and picked up another shot that Shanaya was reaching out for. "Sorry, I'll order us another round." I was beginning to get tipsy, a couple more then I would have to stop. I didn't want to overdo things and end up acting like a fool in front of my coworkers. Shanaya was almost half gone.

"I'll dance with you Jesse." Jesse looked at Shanaya and flashed her a smile. He took her hand and the two of them walked away to the dance floor. I looked over at Ethan, who had his head on the table and was lightly snoring. My other two co-workers that had joined the party earlier were still dancing on the dance floor. Jesse's drinks arrived and I snagged one and started sipping on the drink. I was starting to get hungry but everything on the menu somehow did not appeal to me.

After a while, I started to get sleepy. It had been a long day. The office would be closed Saturday and Sunday so there was a lot of paperwork to finish for the weekend and as usual, I stayed late and completed it all as everyone went home to get ready for tonight, which is why I was fashionably late.

Jesse finally appeared, breathing hard from the dancing. He removed his suit jacket and I looked at him with sleepy eyes. "Looks like someone needs a nap." He smirked at me and I frowned.

"Honestly Jesse, can you stop teasing me about everything. I was the one who had to stay behind and do all that paperwork YOU were supposed to do."

"Oh stop complaining, here have a drink." He passed me a shot and together we took it. I knew he was watching me and my nerves were on end. I noticed that he had been watching me a lot lately.

"What?" I said.

"What, what?" He said still smirking at me and giving me that look.

"What do you mean what, what? Why are you looking at me like that?" I said, the world around me was beginning to get really dizzy as the alcohol set into my system.

"I was admiring your red lips. And that dress, it makes you look hot." I snapped out of my dazed state at the compliment. He narrowed his eyes and got up and sat next to me. He put his hand on either side of me and leaned in. He got close enough to kiss and I froze in place. I could smell him. He had a strong cologne on and his breath smelled like alcohol and mint gum. His lips brushed my cheek as he whispered in my ear. "Come and dance." I took a breath as he leaned back and grabbed my hand. I stumbled after him onto the dance floor. He started moving to the music and I looked around confused.

"I can't dance!" I said. Jesse stopped and looked at me. Then he grabbed me by my waist and spun me around. Then he started moving to the beat again, making my hips move with him. The alcohol was putting me more at ease and I started to enjoy myself. A waitress came by with a few drinks and both Jesse and I took another two shots. I was totally drunk now. I was stumbling in my heels and giggling like a little girl. After a while, Jesse's hands started moving up my dress and I thwarted them away. At first I thought it was an accident but he did it again. This time, I pushed him away. I may be drunk but that didn't mean he was about to get some.

"Hey, I need some fresh air." I said and turned around and walked away, leaving Jesse and the others behind. My face was flushed and as soon as the cold air of the alleyway I had walked out into hit me, I felt better. Then suddenly, someone grabbed me from behind. I almost screamed but then he said my name. "Serenity, let's go back to my place." Jesse had me wrapped in his arms from behind. I could feel his hard body pressing up against me. His breath tickled me on my neck and I shivered. Nothing about this situation was good. He was drunk and so was I. He was my coworker and this was wrong.

"Jesse, let go of me." I said, trying to pry his hands from me.

"No, come on Serenity, don't be like that. I know you have the hots for me. You have no idea how long I've wanted you." He kissed my cheek and then started kissing my neck. A sense of dread flooded me and I needed to get away from him.

"Let me go, Jesse, I don't want to do anything with you." I said more firmly. My drunken state made it hard for me to concentrate. Jesse started to grope me. My eyes grew wide as he fondled my breasts and attempted to pull my dress up with his other hand.

"Jesse, NO! Let go of me!" I said. I looked around us frantically to shout out for help. But there was nobody there. He turned me around and then pinned me to the back wall and started kissing me. His mouth tasted like the shots we were taking earlier and he continued to grope me. Tears had started to flow down my cheeks as I tried to push him away. He wasn't listening to me and I couldn't make him move.

"I wanted to do this last week, but you bailed on us. But tonight, I'm making you mine Serenity." He whispered again.

"Jesse, please, for god's sake please stop!" I sobbed out. I closed my eyes as he came in for another kiss. Suddenly, there was a noise behind him and Jesse abruptly let go of my hands that he had pinned to the wall. I tried to see what was happening in the dark alley. I saw a figure punch another figure and then I heard Jesse's voice cry out in pain. My vision was blurry from the tears and I was feeling woozy.

After several more agonizing moments passed by the figure approached me and I was scared it was a mugger or something about to kill me. I raised my hands to protect myself instead a voice called out to me.

"Are you alright?" That voice, I knew that voice! I lowered my hands and looked to see who it was. And just like that, I was looking into the familiar blue eyes of Seto Kaiba.

Author's Note: This story will only continue if my readers write a review. Any kind of feedback is appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

A sense of relief flooded my whole body and I just wanted to sit down. My body gave way and suddenly I was on the cold, concrete pavement. Something sharp was jabbing at my ankle but I didn't care. I needed to sit down.

"Hey!" He came closer and leaned down. My hair had come undone and now shielded my face from view. Even though I had seen him, the shadow of the next building shaded me. Did he know who I was? "Are you alright?" I could see through my veil of hair that he wanted to reach out to me and make sure that I was okay, but he hesitated. I wanted him to do it, I wanted him to tell me that everything was okay. A tear rolled down my cheek as I let the reality of the situation sink in. Whimpers from the fallen Jesse echoed in the silence of the alleyway. I turned my head at an angle to see his crumpled silhouette. He was cursing now, muttering insane accusations at Kaiba.

Kaiba looked over at him and then at me. "Hey, don't worry, he's not going to hurt you. But I need to know, are you hurt? Do you need me to call you an ambulance?" His voice was soothing and a rush of something familiar ran through my body and I welcomed the peace.

"Kaiba." I finally said. Even through my tears I knew I was smiling. It was an insane reaction I knew, but that's just how he made me feel. I stared at the pavement, shards of glass from broken beer bottles twinkling as bits of street lights from nearby hit them.

"Yes, I'm Kaiba, but wait… how do you know my name?" When I didn't answer, Kaiba mustered up the courage to push my hair back. As he did that, I brought my face up to finally look at him. I saw the initial shock in his eyes turn to a feeling of warmth as he looked at me.

"Serenity!" He exclaimed. More tears emerged out of my eyes when he spoke my name. How long had it been since I heard him say it? High school, I think. "What are you doing here?!" He demanded to know. This time, he didn't hesitate to touch me. He put his hands on my shoulders and slightly shook me.

"I came out with a couple of coworkers, the man you just beat up? He's my boss." We both turned to look at Jesse who was now staring daggers at us.

"Hey! You! Who the hell do you think you are coming at me like that? Son of a bitch, you're going to pay for that!" Jesse yelled. He had regained his posture and was now standing tall in the shadows. Fear began to overwhelm me and thoughts of him hurting Kaiba and me ran through my mind. Jesse was no joke. He had quite the record. He started off as an intermediate cop in Detroit before joining the army. He rose in ranks quickly but was called back to the U.S. and was given a job as an FBI agent. After that, he had started studying Law at the age of 25 and after passing his bar exams in New York, he got a job as an assistant attorney like me at NYC's best private law firm, Brown and Ledger. When the head attorney retired, the post went to Jesse. Long story short, messing with Jesse was bad news. I guess Jesse went down so easily because he was intoxicated and Kaiba must have crept up on him.

Even in the dim light I saw Kaiba's face go blank. His shoulders stiffened and he forced me to stand up with him. He then stood in front of me like a protective barrier and looked Jesse in the eye. "I don't need a formal introduction from you to know who you are. You're a coward and a low life piece of filth that has no place in a civilized society." His voice had somehow changed and his words rung out in the alley, proud and dominant.

"What the hell did you say?" Jesse came at him and I yelled. I froze as Kaiba brought up his hands and stopped Jesse's attack mid way. I had to do something to stop this. Jesse looked shocked and I could tell he was evaluating Kaiba. Kaiba looked back at him with equal severity. It was like two tigers waiting to pounce on each other. But Jesse surprised me. He took a step back and Kaiba let go of fist he had stopped.

Jesse gave him a wicked smile and simply said, "It is good to know that men like you exist. I am sure I will have a good time toying with you."

"You are wrong to assume that you have what it takes to go toe to toe with me." Kaiba said.

"Oh is it? But you know nothing about me. That little description you just gave? You're not even close to knowing who I am or my extent of power." Jesse bragged. He adjusted his suit jacket and pulled out a cigar from the inside pocket. The lighter he used momentarily lit up his face and I saw a bruise starting to form where Kaiba had punched him.

"It doesn't matter to me who you are. You do not get to hurt Serenity and get away with it." Kaiba curled his fingers into a fist and I was scared he might hit Jesse and the whole altercation would become worse than it already was.

"Why does it matter to you what I do with Serenity? We were having quite a pleasant time until you came along." He looked at me and I shied away behind Kaiba. Kaiba noticed the slight movement and gave me a look from the corner of his eye and reached out to hold my hand. He gave it a soft squeeze and that was all the reassurement I needed.

"I'm sure Serenity will say otherwise. Scram before I call the cops." Kaiba said.

"Serenity." Jesse said and I peeked at him from behind Kaiba and was appalled by the smile he gave me. It was sinister and disgusting and I just wanted to get away from Jesse. "I'll be seeing you again and hopefully next time, there won't be any interruptions." Jesse took another puff of his cigar and gave me and Kaiba one last look before turning around and walking back into the bar.

Kaiba didn't go after him and I stared at the closed door. What had this night come to? My head was feeling heavy and a buzzing feeling resonated through my body. I needed to get my purse from inside and head home.

"Serenity…" Kaiba had started to say but I cut him off. I couldn't talk right now, not about any of this. Not about what happened, not about seeing him.

"I'm going inside to grab my stuff." I stumbled towards the door and almost tripped over a bottle but his strong arms caught me in time. He brought me up to a standing position and I looked at my savior.

"I'm coming in with you. That creep might still be inside." Kaiba wanted to protect me and as much as I loved the gesture, I was a big girl now, I would protect myself.

"It's okay. You've already done enough, thank you." I said.

"Serenity." He grabbed my hand in his and swung the door open and club music spilled out as he dragged me along. I struggled along with him, reluctant. I found a passed out Shanaya and Ethan at the bar but no sign of Jesse. The others would be able to get home just fine. I grabbed my jacket and my purse and together, Kaiba and I walked out of the club.

"Thanks." I said once we finally got outside. My head was ready to burst and I yearned for my bed. "I can get a cab from here." I looked left and right. It was weird. It was a Friday night in NYC and I was in front of a club, there should have been at least one taxi. A car pulled up to us and I waited for it to move.

"Come on, I'm taking you home." Kaiba said.

"No thank you. I can get a cab from here. I've troubled you enough." I was very grateful to Kaiba for what he did but my sense of pride didn't want me to take any more favors from him.

"Serenity, stop being so stubborn. Get in the car!" He said and opened the door to his limousine. I stood my ground and looked down the oddly empty road, hoping a cab would show. I could feel Kaiba glaring at me and what he did next surprised me. He pushed me into the car and quickly climbed in after me. I sat there awkwardly splayed out in my dress.

"Hey! What the hell Kaiba!" I yelled at him. I turned around to look at him just as the door shut and he turned to look at me.

"You were being stubborn as usual, so I had to use force." He shrugged.

"This is kidnapping!" I said, straightening up, trying to preserve whatever dignity I had left.

"I guess it is. Where do you live?" He asked. I ignored him and looked out the window at the city passing by. The windows were tinted and not much light showed through.

"I asked you a question." He said, the irritation in his voice growing.

"367 Bellmount Towers." I said. I had no energy left in me to argue with Kaiba. We rode on in silence and soon my eyes got heavy and I drifted to sleep.

When I woke up, my headache was gone and my body seemed so much more relaxed. I kept my eyes shut as the memories flooded back. What time was it? Where was I? I didn't feel like opening my eyes. Maybe I'll just go back to sleep. That's when something felt weird. I was laying on something. Kaiba's car couldn't have soft cushions like this could it? My eyes flew open as I bolted upright, looking around.I was in my room! I scurried out of it and looked around wondering how I got there? Was I that drunk that I didn't remember how I had gotten to my room?

I was still wearing the dress from the night before and I looked down to see my heels were lying on the floor next to my bed. How did I get here? Where was Kaiba? Had he come in and I forgot?

I was thinking about this too much and I shook my head. My eyes fell on the alarm clock on the side table. It was well past nine! I was late for my yoga class! I stripped quickly and rushed into the bathroom and took a quick shower. The warm water caressed my body and I scrubbed down hard, trying to wash away any filth and memory from the night before. Any normal girl would have been traumatized, but I was well past that. Whatever happened, happened, and I would face it all straight on. I brushed, put some light make up on, got dressed and grabbed my gym back before heading out into the living room. I stopped in my tracks as I saw who was lying on my sofa, lightly snoring.

Author's note: I hope you enjoyed the story so far. More chapters will follow based on the reviews I get. Once again, thanks for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

Kaiba lay on my sofa, a pillow under his head. I put my bag down and walked towards him slowly. He turned a little in his sleep and I froze, not wanting to wake him up. When he settled down again, I squatted down and looked at his peaceful sleeping face. Did he really stay here all night? I watched his chest move as he breathed and I wondered if his busy schedule ever let him sleep like this, assuming he was just as busy as he was back in high school.

I don't know how long I stayed like that but he caught me off guard as he slowly opened his eyes to find my face in front of him. I didn't realize I had leaned in to get a closer look at him and his blue eyes grew wide and he sat up abruptly, causing me to fall straight on my bottom.

"Ow!" I said, crawling away from the sofa and finally standing up.

"What were you doing?" Kaiba snapped at me.

"What do you mean what was I doing?" I would die before I told Kaiba I was watching him sleep. "You're the one in my apartment! I don't take kindly to unwelcomed guests." I snapped back.

"You're the one who passed out in my car." He stood up and straightened out his crumpled dress shirt. I couldn't help but admire the muscles visible underneath his shirt. Wow, Kaiba really had grown into a handsome man. Not that he wasn't to die for before, but now, he had outgrown his childish intuition, making him more manly. Of course the outside world wouldn't see much of a difference other than his physical traits, but there was something more grown up about him.

"How did we get here?" I asked, taking a seat on my armchair, pulling on my sneakers.

"I carried you." He said. He stopped stretching and looked at me. "Where are you going?"

"The gym, I'm late for my yoga classes." I said. He rose his eyebrow and looked at me.

"The gym? Wait, what time is it?" He patted his pockets and an alarmed looked flashed across his eyes. I noticed his cell phone lying on the table next to him and I motioned at it. He followed my gaze and picked up the cell. "It's dead. What time is it Serenity?"

"There's a clock behind you, look for yourself." I said. Kaiba frowned at me but turned around and looked at the chic looking clock I had bought for my living room last week.

"It's already 9:30! I'm late too!" Kaiba groaned and started to smooth down his clothes and pull on his discarded suit jacket.

"Serves you right." I said.

"What?" He stopped what he was doing and looked at me.

"I never asked you to drop me home you know, it's not my fault I passed out in YOUR car and YOU had to carry me home." That struck a chord with me and I turned to look at his glaring face. "Say, how did you know which I apartment I lived in?" I didn't recall giving him my whole adress the night before.

"Your doorman told me which apartment you lived in."

"But that's confidential information, why would he give that to you?" I would have to have a word with Ali the doorman.

"A hundred dollars does wonders Serenity." He said and started looking around. "Where is your bathroom?"

"You bribed my doorman?" I said. He just nodded and waited for me to point out the direction to the bathroom. "It's that way." He walked towards a small corridor which had two doorways and opened the one on the right and walked in.

I waited until he returned. The sleep was now gone from his eyes and there wasn't much I could do about his clothes.

"Do you have to go to gym class?" He asked, pulling on his shoes as I put my hair up in a bun.

"No, but it's a routine I do every Saturday. I go to the gym, stop by the park, then get some grocery shopping done, come home, cook, and then relax back with a bottle of wine."

"How interesting, I asked if you have to go to gym, not a schedule of your daily life depicting how boring it is." I scowled at him and he smirked.

"No, I don't have to go."

"Good, you're coming with me." He said and stood up.

"Wait, what?" I said standing up too.

"And get changed, where we are going, that attire won't do. Wear something formal, perhaps a suit. You're a lawyer, right? You have one of those." He was already at the door, ready to leave. "Wait, hold on. Who told you I'm going anywhere with you? I have stuff to do Kaiba. You can't just decide for both of us and drag me along." That's what he would do, even back then. I guess I was more angry that he thought things were the same as they used to be.

"You said you didn't have to go. I'm late to a very important meeting with a client because I had to haul your ass out of my car and into your apartment. You owe me, go get dressed, I'm going downstairs to get us a cab." I wanted to smack him, hard. I had forgotten what it felt like to be humiliated and hurt by Seto Kaiba but all those feelings rushed back. But he was right, I owed him, but just this once. He saw me give in to him and smirked at me.

"You can't always get what you want Kaiba." I said over my shoulder as I walked back to my room. I didn't wait for a reply and slowly closed my door. I walked over to my closet picked out a light green dress with a cream colored suit jacket. I changed quickly and twisted my hair into a bun before pinning it in place. I pulled out a pair of earrings and put them on too before slipping into a pair of cream colored shoes to match. Decent enough. I grabbed my purse and locked the apartment as I headed downstairs. Kaiba was already waiting in a cab and I could see by the look he gave me that he approved of what I wore.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"To my hotel first, I can't go to a meeting like this. Give me your phone." I handed him my cellphone which would die soon from its lack of charge. He placed a call and a woman's voice answered.

"Shelly, I need you to reschedule my meeting with Mr. Baron. Pick a nice restaurant and tell him a friend and I will meet him there for lunch." He didn't even wait for an answer and hung up.

"Your secretary?" I asked, taking the phone back.

"My ex secretary." He said, looking out the window. The cab pulled up to a grand hotel and immediately the doorman came and opened the door for us.

"Come." I followed Kaiba into the hotel. I had heard of it before, "The Waterfront" an establishment that housed the finest and richest in the nation. Of course Kaiba would have a suite here. We traveled up to the top floor and sure enough, Kaiba's "suite" was actually the penthouse. The building itself overlooked much of the lower part of Manhattan and so I got a spectacular view of the bustling city once I sat down to wait for Kaiba to get ready. He disappeared into the bedroom and half an hour later, he emerged once again wearing a smart suit that I had to admit looked damn good on him. His hair was slightly wet from the quick shower he had taken and he smelled like that Hugo Boss cologne he always was wrong with me? I was acting like my teenage self. Then again, I couldn't blame him, he always had that effect on me.

"Let's go." I followed him out of the suite and down to the waiting car.

"Where are we going now?" I asked settling into my seat again as the doorman closed our door for us.

"Where would you like to go? We have time to kill before the meeting." He was looking at me directly.

"I don't know." Why was I here with him? Who cares if it was my fault that he had missed his meeting? Kaiba always did this. He always made me pay for things regardless of if it was my fault or not. He got away with it in the past but I wasn't about to let that happen again.

"Hmm. Let's get some breakfast. I know a great cafe near Rockefellar Center." He said then instructed his driver on where to go. I knew the cafe he was talking about. Jesse and I had attended a meeting there with a client not too long ago. The client had come to us in regards of a case including business fraud where his wife helped his partner by transferring money from a business account into a personal account and some kind of conspiracy to set up the client for the fall. In the end, the money was returned to the client and his wife and partner went on to a long vacation in jail.

"Whatever." I said, annoyed that I couldn't say no.

"Serenity, try to be a tad bit more upbeat. We are in this situation because of you." I turned to glare at him but he ignored me as he tapped away on his smartphone, obviously doing something for Kaiba Corp. I was wrong to think that he had changed. He was still his old, obnoxious self. In order to calm myself down, I asked him about Mokuba.  
"How's Mokuba doing?" The question caught Kaiba off guard and he looked up at me, his blue eyes meeting my honey brown ones.

"He's good. He refused to leave Tokyo and attend classes in California, but I'm trying to get him to start handling our branch in Los Angeles. It's been tough, running around from branch to branch, especially since we opened three other branches here in the United States and five other branches in Asia alone. I'm traveling to Germany next month to negotiate with a business associate and talk about launching a branch there."

"I asked how he was, not about your company plans." I said, bored. I sighed and looked out the window to see the limo inching away slowly in the morning traffic. Manhattan was always a busy place, we probably would have gotten to the cafe faster if we had taken the train. Living in NYC for the past three years, I was no stranger to the metro system. Yes I could have easily afforded a car but I liked walking and seeing the city for its ethereal beauty.

"You look bored. I remember a time you enjoyed my company." Kaiba said and I heard a hint of annoyance in his voice. I closed my eyes and thought back to the time he was talking about. I saw Kaiba and me, in the backseat of his limo arguing just as we were now. But back then, it was childish banter and underneath the spewing of words, were feelings we both had hidden. Why did Kaiba choose to remember such things? Did he not remember what he had done?

"It is better that we forget the past Kaiba. It holds nothing but pain and sorrow." I did not turn to look at him to see his reaction. A heavy silence grew between us. It was starting to suffocate me and I really wanted to get out of the car.

"We are here, sir." The driver announced, finally stopping the car. I saw the familiar waving flags that surrounded the inner rink. Once we got out of the car, Kaiba walked us towards the small cafe which was on the bottom floor. We took a seat near the window and I looked out to see the great golden statue with its fountains. Soon the place would be transformed into a skating rink as winter was almost here. Christmas decorations would be put up, a huge tree adorned with colorful ornaments and large nutcrackers lining the perimeters while mass tourists and locals alike flocked to celebrate the season.

"What would you like?" That was the first thing Kaiba had said since my statement in the car and any hint of familiarity and annoyance was gone from his voice. This was the professional Kaiba. I guess even that was okay. Kaiba may have saved me yesterday but it did not erase what he himself had done in the past. I would always be grateful to him but to be a friend to him again was impossible.  
"I'll have a black coffee and a heated croissant." I had lost my appetite as well as my energy. First chance I got, I would ditch him. The more I stayed with him, the more awkward the situation between him and I got.  
"Serenity, you haven't eaten anything since last night. At least have a full breakfast. Besides, I'll pay." He smirked at me, knowing full well that his last statement grabbed my attention.

"Do not insult me by trying to imply that I can't pay for my own food. I am a lawyer, you know." I glared at him as he continued to smirk at me. "Stop doing that. You look like an idiot child doing that." Kaiba rose his eyebrow at me and I looked away from him and over at the next table. A young couple sat there eating breakfast and laughing. It was like deja vu and for a second there I was transported back to four years ago, when Kaiba and I were still friends and I saw the two of us laughing over something Mokuba had done on his date with a Korean girl he had met online. A small smile played across my lips and my heart ached from the memory.

"What are you thinking about?" Kaiba caught my attention and I lost my smile. Why was I thinking about all of this? It had taken me a long time to lock these painful memories away and now they were threatening to resurface all because Kaiba had walked back into my life. He looked over at the table too and saw the woman laughing at the man as she fed him something from her plate. I saw a similar smile appear on his lips and I wondered if he was remembering the same thing I did.

"Serenity, last night you said that that jerk was your boss. Are you sure you still want to work for him?" I stared at Kaiba, stunned. I was not expecting that from Kaiba at all, if anything I was sure he wanted to refrain from asking any questions that related to last nights events. A waiter came and Kaiba placed both of our orders and even after he left, I stayed quiet. I had put the impending problem out of my mind, hoping that I would be able to figure something out later. But now that Kaiba has asked, I actually had to think about it. Was I going to quit? It would be a rash decision, based on personal feelings, but then again, the issue itself wasn't as simple. On one hand, I had my career to think about. To leave NYC's most prestigious private law firm would be considered suicide career wise but I had to consider the humane side of it. Morally, it would be wrong to stay, let alone let Jesse get away with what he had done.

"I don't know. I guess it all depends on what happens when I go into work on Monday." Was it childish of me to expect Jesse to apologize and for me to accept it and make everything okay? My mother always said I was too practical for my own good. Even if I did forgive Jesse, and that's assuming Jesse will apologize, would things return to normal? Would it ensure something like that would never happen again? I had to face the facts. We were all adults and we all needed to saturate our bodily pleasures but what Jesse did was wrong and in the process, he violated me and my trust. As if trusting men wasn't hard enough. I looked up at Kaiba and saw him looking at me intently. He hadn't said anything and I wondered what was going on in that genuis mind of his.

"I see. Well, I wish you good luck then." Our food arrived then and I stared at the croissant on my plate for a long time as Kaiba dug into his sausage and eggs.

"I'm leaving. Enjoy your breakfast Kaiba." I stood up and was about to leave but Kaiba reached out and held my hand. He didn't let go until I turned to meet his eyes. He tilted his head awkwardly. The gesture reminded me of a curious child and once again I wanted to know what was going on in his head.  
"Take good care of yourself Serenity. Don't do anything stupid." He released my hand and continued eating his breakfast, practically ignoring the fact that I was still standing there. I stared at him for a moment longer, eyes wide. When I felt like I would start crying, I turned around and walked away. Kaiba did not call out to me or hold my hand again to make me stay. I made a quick stop in the woman's restroom and made sure nobody was in there before I locked the door behind me and looked at my reflection in the framed mirror. A stray tear had found its way down my cheek and I cursed myself for crying. Why was I? I was stronger than this. Kaiba had made me stronger than this. I had to stop. I had to push him out of my life again, same as he just did. He could do that. He had always been able to shut me out of his life whenever it was convenient for him. Then why couldn't I? I willed myself to take a deep breath and when I finally got myself under control, I walked outside and hailed myself a cab and went straight home.

The rest of the day, I stayed cooped up in my little apartment watching movies and eating ice cream to mend my broken heart. The stitches I had put on it years ago had come undone when Kaiba decided to save me last night and now everything was beginning to threaten to come pouring out again. I wouldn't allow it. I fell asleep while crying along to the ending of "The Breakfast Club" only to wake up in the middle of night, with my joints hurting from sitting up for so long. I checked my phone and was surprised to find a text from an unknown number.

"I'm sorry about my comments earlier this morning. Please have a splendid night, Serenity. S.K." I stared at the message for a long time and contemplated if I should reply. In the end, I ended up deleting the text from my phone and fell back onto my couch, wondering why my life was becoming so complicated again.


	4. Chapter 4

Sunday was an eventless day. I spent it cleaning my apartment and looking over case files. The work had piled up and although I didn't look forward to it, I would have to go to an important luncheon with Jesse tomorrow to meet a client regarding a murder case. Why did we even take this stupid case? The evidence against the idiot was concrete and it looked like we were going to be in a tight spot. It would have been better if he had just confessed that way we could at least reduce his sentencing. Oh well, we had to find something. I kept digging through the evidence, going over the police report, trying to find some kind of loop hole.

My phone buzzed and I looked at the screen. Joey was calling.

"Hello brother of mine. How are you?"

"Serenity! Hey! Guess what?!" Joey sounded excited and I stopped reading the coroner's report of the victim and gave him my full attention.

"What?"

"I'm coming to New York! Mai's aunt is hosting this fashion show thingy and she invited us. Says it's an early wedding gift to us! Sweet right?" I heard Mai talking in the background and I wondered how she felt about it. From what I remember, she hated New York, why though she never told us.

"Joey that's wonderful. Just let me know when your going to be here, I need to take off from work to give you guys some time." That's assuming I still have a job after tomorrow.

"Of course, we will be there next week. Oh Ren, I haven't seen you since Christmas. It's almost been a year!" I thought back to the last time I was with my brother and the rest of my friends. It was a very special time for him, he had just proposed to Mai on Christmas Eve and I remembered how happy the two of them had looked together. My mother was planning the wedding for this upcoming New Year and I knew I'd be heading home too to celebrate.

"I know. I can't wait to see you either. I miss you." I said and I realized I really did. I shared everything with my brother but I couldn't share what had happened two nights ago.

"Ren, are you alright?" My brother asked, his voice lower than before. Maybe mom was there too.

"Sure Joey, I'm fine, why do you ask?" That was my brother. He always knew something was wrong as soon as he heard my voice, no matter how hard I tried.

"Serenity." He said sternly this time.

"Joey, honestly, don't Serenity me. Listen I have some paperwork I have to finish for work tomorrow, so I'll catch up with you later okay? Email me your flight itinerary so I know when and where you'll be landing." I said quickly, trying to change the subject.

My brother was quiet for a long time but he finally said, "Alright Ren, love ya and take care of yourself. I swear you work too much. That's gonna change when Mai and I get there, Night Ren."

"Love you too Joey, goodnight." I said and hung up. That was close. I would have to be careful when Joey came next week to not mention any of this. He would kill Jesse if he knew what he did to me and he'd probably kill Kaiba too for getting near me again.

I sighed and pushed the paperwork aside and walked to the window of my apartment. This was a quiet neighborhood, peaceful and serene. The streetlights filtered in through the window, illuminating my figure.

"Why do I keep thinking about him?" I said aloud and looked towards my sofa. He had been in here, sleeping on that very couch. I closed my eyes and went back four years.

FOUR YEARS AGO:

"Serenity!" Tea called out to me as we exited the school. The senior was closely followed by Yugi, her boyfriend. The two had recently started dating and it came as no surprise. After the Pharaoh's passing, Yugi and Tea had grown more closer and it was nice to see the two finally coming together. I wished I had a boyfriend like that, but unfortunately the boy I liked was forever going to be out of my reaches and that too for quite a few reasons.

"Hey Tea, what's up?" I said as the brunette fell into step with me.

"Tea, don't just run off like that!" Yugi said catching up. He gave me an adorable smile and I returned one of my own. "Serenity, have you seen Joey and Tristan anywhere?"

"No, but weren't they supposed to meet you two after school to get ready for the Expo next week?" The school was throwing some kind of cultural exposition from around the world and all the seniors had to take part in it as it counted towards 25% of their final grade in history class.

"Yeah, like half an hour ago in the library. They aren't there and they're not in the gym or cafeteria either." Tea said. She flipped out her phone and checked for any missed calls. It was unusual for BOTH Tristan and Joey to disappear like that. I hoped they weren't getting themselves into too much trouble.

"Hey Wheeler's sister!" A short boy with weird blue hair and yellow rimmed glasses shouted to me.

"Weevil?" Yugi said.

"Hello, King of Games." Weevil said and Yugi looked uncomfortable at being called by his official gaming title.

"What are you doing here?" Yugi asked and I heard a hint of mistrust in his voice. Not that that was unnatural, after all Weevil Underwood really was a weevil, butting his nose into everyone's business and making everyone's lives a sticky hell with all of his creepy crawlies. Like me, he had just recently enrolled at Domino High and like me, he was a sophomore.

"I'm here to tell you lot that Kaiba and Wheeler's got it going again in the field behind the school. There's a whole audience, even teachers are watching. I didn't want you guys to miss out on your friend being humiliated by Kaiba again." He laughed and I scowled at him. Yugi was already running towards the school again and disappeared around the side of it.  
"Yugi! Wait! Serenity, come on. Forget Weevil, we need to help Joey!" I gave Weevil's sneering face one last scowl before breaking into a run behind Tea. True to Weevil's words though, there was quite the crowd gathered in the field. In the center, I saw my brother looking very pissed off at a very determined Kaiba.

"JOEY!" I shouted out and both of them turned to look at me.

"Oh looks like the entire party is here now. I'll have more fun humiliating you now Wheeler." Kaiba said to my brother and I could tell Joey really wanted to punch him.

"Joey, what on earth are you doing? Why would you duel Kaiba?" Yugi said to my brother.  
"Yug, stay out of this one. I got a score to settle with moneybags over there." He said, glaring at Kaiba who threw his head back and laughed.

"Yes Yugi, stay out of this duel. Wheeler and I are both fighting for something very special this time." Yugi looked disturbed at that but didn't say anything.

"Yugi, why would Joey duel Kaiba? He knows he's not strong enough yet to be beat him and you know how he gets once he loses…." I said. Yugi knew this too. The last time the two had dueled was in the Battle City tournament, and although Joey came close, he didn't win. Of course Joey was a great duelist, and to me, he was probably the best, but when looking at the situation practically, Joey was going to lose. Kaiba was simply better.

"I don't know Serenity but there's nothing we can do about it now. Looks to me like both of them have lost quite a few life points. But Joey's are lower. If he takes on more hit, depending on the monster Kaiba uses, the match will definitely be over."

"Watch out moneybags, here comes my red eyes!" Joey shouted and just like that, there was a shimmer of lights and his dragon appeared. It was just a holographic projection but the being itself looked so real. "Red eyes, attack his X-Head Cannon!" The dragon did as his master said and soon Kaiba's monster was obliterated and his life points to another dive. Joey might actually be able to win this one. He grinned at Kaiba who simply looked at him.

"I'll admit Wheeler, you're dragon is quite remarkable but it is nothing compared to my legendary blue eyes" Kaiba drew his card and out came his blue eyes and we all knew Joey was a goner. Another duel, lost.

"Watch Wheeler, as my precious Blue Eyes takes out your Red Eyes. Blue Eyes, white lightning attack!" And we watched as Red Eyes got obliterated and Joey's life points vanished. Joey looked more pissed off than upset though. Why had my brother been dueling Kaiba in the first place?

"Look's like I win mutt!" Kaiba said and laughed at him.

"Joey!" Yugi shouted Joey's name and started running towards him. Tea followed and I saw Tristan, Duke, and Bakura jump out of the crowd too. I was the only one who stayed hidden though. Joey, you idiot. Why did you always have to get yourself into messes like these?

"Time to pay up Wheeler, you know the deal we had." Kaiba said and then he did the unexpected. He looked over at where I was standing and smiled, well more like smirked.

"Serenity!" My brother shouted my name and I looked over at him. Tristan said something to the others and all of them turned to look at me. What on earth was going on? The crowd gave way and I started walking towards my brother.

"Joey, you really did it this time. Serenity's going to kill you." Tea said nervously to my brother who looked like he was in his own hell. When I approached them, they got quiet. What had my brother done?

"Joey, are you okay?" I asked my brother, eyeing him carefully.

"I'm fine, listen Serenity, you know I love you right? And that I would do anything for you? So will you do me one teeny tiny eensy weensy little favor?" Joey asked and I rose my eyebrow. Why was he getting so brotherly all of a sudden? Not that he wasn't an overprotective doting brother all the time, but there was something fishy going on here.

"What's going on Joey?" I asked.

"Tell her, Joey. You know you have to." Tristan said, looking about ready to beat Joey up.  
"Tristan, what is going on? Why was Joey dueling Kaiba in the first place? Did they get into another fight or something?" I looked over at Kaiba who was watching us quietly. I hadn't noticed it before but Mokuba was now at his side looking from Kaiba to us and then back at his older brother.  
"Serenity. Your stupid brother here fought Kaiba because some idiot was saying some really non gentlemanly things about you." He blushed and looked the other way.

"Wait, so Kaiba said something bad about me?" Somehow it didn't make any sense. It hurt though...why would he say anything mean about me at all? I hadn't done anything to hurt him. I only ever spoke to man once in my life, or maybe twice if we counted the incident in the gym last month.

"No, HE was defending you and Joey got the wrong idea and soon the two started quarrelling and the whole thing just broke out into a duel. Joey said if he won the duel, Kaiba would apologize to him in public and admit Joey was a better duelist...but if Joey lost…" He stopped and looked at me. Joey threw him a nervous glance before looking at me. Then my idiot brother finally manned up and said, "Kaiba told me that if I lost, you would have to go on a date with him. And like an idiot, I agreed."


	5. Chapter 5

I stared at Joey, unable to comprehend what he just said.

"Serenity? Ren? Anybody in there?" He touched me and I pushed my brother back. Everyone looked at me shocked. Really what the hell did they expect?

"Ren...I'm sorry." Joey said, looking down. I could tell he was ashamed at what he'd done. But was this the place to do it? No… I couldn't humiliate my brother even more. Not right after Kaiba just beat him in a duel.

"Lets go home Joey." I didn't wait for him to answer and I turned around and started walking away.  
"Serenity, wait!" Joey caught up to me and grabbed my hand. It took all my will to not turn around and shove him again.

"Joey, home, NOW." He could tell I was serious about this and he backed off.  
"Serenity, let us come too." Tea said and although I wanted to have a private conversation with my brother I just nodded.

"I hope you lot aren't thinking of leaving without giving me my prize. Come on Wheeler, I'm sure you won't hurt your pride even more by not adhering to our deal."

"Shutup moneybags!" Joey shouted at him. I didn't turn to look at Kaiba. How could I go on a date with Kaiba? Was Joey out of his mind? I continued to walk away. Tea followed me but the others held back. The crowd parted and gave way as I walked past them. All these eyes on me...did they know what the prize was? What deal Joey had made with Kaiba? Those two had left me to become a laughing stock. I was NOT a prize. I broke into a run and left it all behind.

"Serenity, wait!" Tea started running after me but soon her voice faded into the background as I ran, tears running down my cheeks.

I got home and shut myself in my room. My mom wasn't home yet so I was glad for the solitude. How could Joey agree to something like that? No, the bigger question was why did Kaiba want to go on a date with me?

My head started to hurt from the thinking and I drifted off to sleep. I awoke to a darkened room and several knocks on my door. I groggily got up and opened the door. The sight of Joey's face made me want to shut it in his face and go back to sleep.

"Serenity, can we talk? Please?"

"Joey, I don't care what you have to say, I'm not going on a date with Kaiba." I pushed past him trying to get to the kitchen.

"But Serenity-" Joey tried again and I put my hand up,

"Joey, first of all you woke me up from a raw nap so don't and second of all NO, I won't do it. Why on earth would you think I'd agree to go on a date with the egotistical maniac anyways?" My true feelings would never see the light of day so I might as well call him that.

"Is that how you feel about your date?" I stopped dead in my tracks as I saw who was sitting on my living room couch. My eyes grew wide as Seto Kaiba uncrossed his legs and looked at me. Yugi and Tea sat on the other couch looking very nervous. Mokuba was there too but his back was to me.

"Joey." I said.  
"Serenity… that's what I was trying to tell you."  
"Kaiba, what are you doing here?" I finally managed to say to him, knowing that there was nothing else to say to my brother.

"Aah, she finally acknowledges me. It was rude of you to leave your date behind like that at the school. I had to come all the way here to fetch you." Kaiba said. Mokuba had stood up now and was looking at me. I realized how stupid I must be looking, wearing a sweaty, crumpled school uniform, my hair a mess from tossing and turning while I slept. I probably had "morning" breath too.  
"Stop calling yourself my date. I don't know what kind of agreement you and Joey came to, but let's make one thing clear," I said and looked at Joey too while saying this, "I am not a prize to be won. Joey, you hate Kaiba, why would agree to let your little sister go on a date with him anyways?"

"Well that's easy, the idiot thought he was going to win." Tea muttered and Joey threw her a scowl.

"Don't scowl at her, look at me." Joey reluctantly looked at me and I could see from his eyes that he was really sorry.

"Serenity, I'll make it up to you, I promise. Can't you forgive your brother this one time?" He said, eyes pleading. I could tell Kaiba was enjoying this and I turned to him, ready to give him a piece of my mind too.

"Wipe that smirk off your face Kaiba."

"Your a hot one aren't you? Quite the temper. Come Serenity, I'm sure our date will be a splendid one indeed." Kaiba looked amused. What was wrong with this guy? This was not the Kaiba I knew.

"Shutup you jerk!" Joey said.

"Wheeler, is your sister going to come on a date with me or not? If she doesn't, you know the rules. You never duel again." I stared at Kaiba. He couldn't be serious. Was that why Joey had agreed? Or was Tea right, Joey really thought he could beat Kaiba this time.

"You know what, fine by me. My sister is way more important than some card game." I knew he didn't mean that. I could see how much it hurt Joey to say it. Ever since Yugi's grandpa started teaching him the game, it had become a sort of obsession for Joey. The game had taught Joey so much, how to be independent, how to be a strong player, both in life and the game. This game was why I had my eyesight back. Well the game and Joey. Yes Yugi had officially won the tournament, but Joey's determination had gotten him to the finals and that was enough for me.

"Then say it Wheeler. Declare your second rate dueling ass retired and I can be on my way." Kaiba urged Joey.

"Joey…" Yugi started to say but Tea touched his hand and when he looked at her, she shook her head, telling him not to interfere.

"Fine. I, Joey Wheeler, renounce my title as-" I cut Joey off. If Joey could do so much for me, I could at least go on a date with Kaiba and finish this once and for all.

"Stop. Fine. I'll go." I looked at Kaiba and then at Joey. "But hear me loud and clear, next time you idiots decide to duel, leave me and my love life out of it!" I said and without another word, I marched back into my room.

Half an hour passed by and nobody came knocking on my door. I was almost asleep again when a soft knock woke me up. The door opened slightly and Joey peeked in.

"Ren, you awake?" Joey called to me, using my childhood nickname.

"Hmmm." I said from under the covers.

"Can you talk for a minute?" Joey was now inside, at the foot of my bed.

"Yeah." I said softly, still hiding under the covers.

"Listen, I'm sorry about all of this today. You know how Kaiba can get. Some kid was saying some crap about you and I got mad and then Kaiba saw that and started insulting me and things kind of got out of control. It's a good thing it wasn't a fist fight though..Anyways, I just wanted to apologize for getting you into this mess. You think you can forgive your big brother?" He was now sitting on my bed. I peeked out of the covers and saw his silhouette on my bed, his blonde hair falling over his face as he looked down at his thin, slender hands. He almost looked like a child and the stubbornness in me melted at the sight. I pushed the covers aside and I hugged him.

My brother just hugged me back. He sat there until I fell asleep again and the last thing I remember from the night was him whispering goodnight to me as he closed the door.

The next morning at school, word got around quick that Kaiba and I were dating.  
"Serenity, is it true?" A girl from my biology class walked beside me and asked. I wanted to bang my head on my locker and once I got to it, I saw it was covered in hate mail from Kaiba's many fan girls.

"No, now if you please, I have to get to French class." Even the teachers gave me sly looks. It was a mixed reaction though. Some of the students actually admired me for being able to land a hot hunk like Seto Kaiba. They were convinced that he and I would get married one day and we'd have little children going to the best preschool in the country wearing miniature Kaiba trenchcoats. I actually laughed at the image, imaging little bodies with Kaiba and Serenity heads. The stupid things people thought of.

"How you holding up?" Tea said as we sat down for lunch.

"Not good. I think I'll be dead by tomorrow. Have you seen some of this hate mail? Honestly Joey, think before you speak next time." I said and tore the letters before discarding them in the nearest garbage.

"Serenity…." Joey whined. "I said I'm sorry!"

"Well sorry doesn't cut it Wheeler. Now poor Serenity has to go on a date with that narcissistic asshole!" Tristan said.

"Not you too!" Joey whined and buried his head in his hands.

"Serenity, might I have a word?" My eyes grew wide and Joey's head shot up immediately as we both heard Kaiba's voice.

I looked around me to see that the lunchroom had gone quiet and all eyes were on us. Did Kaiba really have to do this here? Surely he had heard the rumors. Even the ridiculous ones with the babies and the miniature trenchcoats.

"...Sure…" I gave Joey and the others a quick look before following Kaiba out of the cafeteria and out the back door into the same field Joey and he had dueled in yesterday. "What is it?" I asked.

"I've heard the rumors and I wanted to make sure you were alright." That was unexpected. Which rumors exactly had he heard?

"I'm fine, thank you. Why are you checking up on me, exactly?"

"Well according to the rumors, you and I are destined to get married and have little babies that run around in my coats so I just thought I'd add a little spice to it." Kaiba smirked and I glowered at him. So it wasn't concern. This was torture.  
"Thanks for your concern, Kaiba." I said sourly. "I need to get back, class will start in a few minutes." I started back towards the back entrance of the school but Kaiba grabbed my hand and stopped me. This was the second time in my whole life I had ever felt the touch of his skin on mines. The first time was last month in gym.

"Wait. I have to tell you something. Tonight is the only available night I have before I fly away for a business trip to Tokyo. I'll be gone for a week therefore I'd like to conclude our date tonight. So be ready at 6. I'll come by and pick you up." He said, still holding on to my hand. His touch seemed to burn a little bit, but I liked it. Just like I did last time.

"You can't just tell me to be ready. I have a life you know, unlike you, I might have plans." Who did Kaiba think he was just bossing me around like that?

"Then cancel them or have your brother renounce his position as a duelist. Your pick."

"You're a serious asshole, you know that Kaiba?" I realized that that was a little harsh, even for me but I wasn't about to take it back and besides, it didn't faze Kaiba the slightest bit.

"Please Serenity, leave that crude behavior of yours at home too. Remember, 6 sharp." Kaiba left me there and I watched his retreating back disappear into the school building. The bell finally rang and I trudged my way back into the school. The torture continued and I found more threatening notes when I returned to my locker at the end of the day.

Tea caught up to me as I was walking towards the bus stop and asked me what Kaiba had said. I told her he wanted me to be ready for our date at six. Tea thought it was a good thing and that getting it over with would be the best option. I promised to call her with every boring detail after the date and soon, I was on my way home.


	6. Chapter 6

What would I wear? Knowing how rich Kaiba was, was unnerving. That meant he could take me anywhere. The movies or even a premier to a movie. Both situations called for completely different outfits. In the end, I opted for something comfortable but suitable for a formal environment and so I put on a short blue dress and threw a cardigan over it just in case it got chilly outside.

It was five minutes until six when Joey tapped on my door and I told him to come in.

"Wow Ren, look at you getting all dressed up for moneybags." He teased.

"Oh please Joey. You of all people should not be joking." I applied some lip gloss and assessed myself in the mirror. Not bad. Cute even.

"Ren, listen if Kaiba tries any kind of funny business at all with you, then you call me right away. I'll kick his ass into next week, I promise." He said and I smiled at my brother. He may have gotten me into this mess but he still cares what happened in the end.

"Alright Joey." I said and just then, the doorbell rang. Suddenly, I was nervous. I was going on a date with Kaiba, it was only natural that I would be.

"Must be moneybags. I'll let you get it." Joey gave me one last look before disappearing into his bedroom.

I sighed, picked up my small purse, checked myself in the mirror one more time before finally opening the door.

Kaiba stood there, all professional like, wearing a dark blue suit with a light blue shirt and a light pink tie. I had to admit, he really could pull off a suit.

"Good. You're ready, let's go." I gaped at his back as he turned around and walked towards the limo waiting out front. The kids playing on the streets gawked at him as he entered the limo and I followed him in. It was like entering a bat's cave.

"Let's hope he doesn't suck all your blood out." I muttered as the door shut and we were drenched in a soft glow that lighted the interior of the limo.

"Did you say something?" Kaiba asked.

"No." I said and sat there uncomfortably. This was weird. Why was I here? "Where are we going?" I finally asked, the car ride seemingly endless.

"I assumed people usually go to the movies on their first dates, so that is where I am taking you. Don't worry, Mokuba made sure I didn't take you to a showcasing at our Kaiba Dome theater. He thought that would be a little extreme, therefore we are headed downtown to the Cineplex." I was surprised that Kaiba had put so much thought into our date.

"Just to be clear this is not a first date. This is our only date. Saying first implies there will be a second." I said. Why was I so grumpy for?

"You're a sour one, you know that? For some reason, the first time I met you, you seemed...nicer." Kaiba said.

I doubted he had ever noticed me before let alone given me a second thought after noticing me.

"Aren't you going to ask why I've brought you on this date? I thought that would be the first annoying question out of your mouth tonight." Kaiba said, looking at me in the dim light.

I did want to but I decided against it, but now that he mentioned it... Should I?

"I do want to know. But I won't pester you into saying it. Tell me if you want to." I said.

"Perhaps we can wait till the night comes to an end." Kaiba said and I saw him smirk. I narrowed my eyes at him and reminded myself to be on guard.

"We are here." The driver announced and Kaiba and I got out of the car. We looked a little too well dressed for a night at the movies but I assumed this was how he always dressed when he wasn't at school or sleeping. We approached the entrance and I started to get in line when he stopped me.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Getting in line, we need tickets if we want to get in you know." I said, implying Kaiba was dumb not to know that. Then again with his status and money, he could probably get free entry anywhere.

"No need. I have our tickets. Come." He grabbed my hand and started walking us both towards the entrance.

"Wait. What do you mean you already have the tickets?" I asked, pulling my hand from his grasp. "We haven't even decided what movie we are going to watch."

Kaiba looked annoyed and said, "I already purchased the tickets for-" He took out two ticket stubs from his inner pocket and read the title of the movie out loud. "Losing You in Paris".

"You got us tickets to a crappy romantic film?" I almost laughed at that.

"I thought girls liked sappy romantic stuff like that." He looked even more annoyed and confused now. I giggled a little and for the first time that night, I rewarded Kaiba with a smile. He looked taken aback by it and I wondered if I had offended his taste in movies or his assumption of girls.

"Maybe the sappy girls you normally date like them, but Kaiba, I don't." I said.

"Too bad, we are watching this." He didn't let me protest and once again he grabbed my hand and hauled me inside.

"Sit, I'll get us something to eat." Kaiba left me sitting in the back row of the theater as he walked back down and disappeared around the corner.

"Hey, was that Seto Kaiba?" A girl in the row in front of me asked. She was sitting there with what looked like her boyfriend and I could see that the two of them were holding hands. Great even two strangers knew who he was. Was I going to get jumped in the theater now?

"Yes." I said, growing uncomfortable.

"Wow. Nice catch. He is sooooo cute!" Her boyfriend smacked her thigh and she yelped out loud and a few other people in the theater turned to look at us.

"Hey, you trying to say I'm not hot?" Her boyfriend teased. I looked from one to the other as they bantered playfully and the boy bit the girls cheek. I squinted my eyes, sure that that must have hurt. The girl giggled hysterically though I had to wonder if something was mentally wrong with the two.

"Sorry about that, my boyfriend tends to get a bit jealous when I look at other eye candy. It's okay babe, you can eye her if you want. She's kind of cute too." She gave me a devilish look and I saw her boyfriend blush. The theater was still lit since the movie hadn't started and the couple was starting to irritate me and I wondered where Kaiba was.

"So, how do you know Seto Kaiba?" The girl asked, resting her chin on her hands which were placed on the edge of the back of her seat.

"We...we go to school together." Why didn't the movie start already?  
"Oh that must be nice then, getting to see him all the time time then. I only get to see my boyfriend once a week." She pouted and looked at her boyfriend who sighed.

"It's nothing like that." I started to say and I noticed Kaiba walking back up the steps, a clerk behind him holding two trays stacked with junk food. The girl noticed me staring in that direction and turned around to see Kaiba coming.  
"Wow, talk about a feast. You're lucky." She said then kissed her boyfriend and said, "But so am I." I saw the boy smile at her and I wondered if the two genuinely loved each other or if it was puppy love.

"Serenity. Here hold this." He took one tray from the clerk and handed it to me and when he sat down, he took the other one. with his other hand, he reached into his pocket and took out a bill and handed it to the clerk. "Thank you for your assistance."  
"Umm...sir, I don't have any change on me." He said, looking uncertainly at Kaiba.

Kaiba threw him an annoyed look and said, "Did I ask for change?" The boy quickly shook his head and Kaiba said, "Exactly, now you may leave."  
"Certainly sir, have a great night." The boy bowed slightly and turned and left in a hurry.

"How much did you give him?" I asked, eyeing the vacant spot the clerk had occupied seconds ago.

"A hundred. I hope you like gummy bears. Mokuba does, so I assumed you would too." He pointed at my tray as I just gawked at him. "What?"

"You tipped a guy a hundred dollars for helping you up the stairs with your junk food?"

"Yes, he assisted me so I rewarded him."

"Yes but-"

"But what? I am the CEO of Kaiba Corp, a hundred dollars is nothing to me." He said matter of factly.

"That's not true. Maybe to a rich obnoxious idiot like you it doesn't, but to people like him and me, a hundred dollars is a lot." I said, staring at the screen. The guy and girl in front of us listened to us, waiting for Kaiba to say something.

"Serenity, I don't understand, am I the bad guy or a good guy now?" He asked, confused. I gave him a quick look over and said.

"Bad. Definitely bad." The girl in front of me laughed and I smiled a little bit, knowing I had embarrassed Kaiba. Kaiba gave her a look and together the boyfriend and girlfriend sunk in their seats just as the lights began to dim. We sat in silence as the movie started. Halfway through it my hand started to get lazy and I moved it to the armrest on my left and ended up placing my hand on Kaiba's. He looked over at me and I immediately moved my hand away. He moved his hand away from the armrest, as if offering it to me but I refused. There was no more interaction between us as the movie continued. I laughed at a few parts and overall, it wasn't half bad. The ending especially was unexpected. When the movie finished I placed my tray of untouched food on the floor and stood up.

"You didn't eat anything? Don't tell me you're one of those health conscious girls who are always on a diet." I was surprised Kaiba even knew that girls dieted.

"No, I just didn't want to ruin my appetite for dinner. Now that the movie is over, you can drop me home and this date will become history." I said as I adjusted my cardigan. The couple in front of us waved us bye as they walked out and Kaiba and I followed. It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the bright light of the reception area and soon we were outside. It was good that I bought a cardigan, the wind had picked up and the night had grown chilly.

"I am not taking you home just yet. I have dinner reservations at a small Italian diner not too far from here. You are joining me for dinner." I didn't argue with him and I quietly followed him to his waiting car.

"Tell me Serenity. Are you that keen on going home?" He asked once we were seated. Was I? I guess I enjoyed myself at the movie. The thing was, I had no reason to be out here enjoying a night out with Kaiba and I had no reason not to be out here either.

"No. Dinner sounds good." I said.

"Hmm." Kaiba looked out the window and I wondered what he was thinking of. I took the moment to take a good look at him. His piercing blue eyes and his creamy complexion is what had the girls dying. His voice was deep, kind of raspy, but I had to admit it was sexy.

"Admiring my looks?" His eyes met mine in the reflection in the glass and I blushed hard. Crap!

"No." I said and looked the other way. Kaiba brought his arm around and hooked his finger on my chin and turned my face towards him.

"Don't deny it. You were looking at me the same way you did that day in the gym. I'm not stupid. I notice those things." I was shocked that he had mentioned the incident at the gym. My lips started tingling from the memory and I shook my head, breaking Kaiba's touch.

"I see." Kaiba said and this time he had a firmer grasp on me as he turned my head to meet his eyes. "Look at me." Kaiba was so close, I could smell the peppermint on his breath and the cologne he wore.  
"Kaiba…" I said at a lost for words. Should I tell him to let me go? This same behavior was what had led to the incident in the gym in the first place. I cursed myself for thinking about it again.

"Maybe I should remind you of what happened. Just in case you forgot." He leaned in closer and I could almost feel his hot breath on my lips. Was he really going to do it?


	7. Chapter 7

"We are here, sir." I opened my eyes as the chauffeur announced that we had arrived at the diner.

"Saved by the chauffeur." Kaiba said looking into my eyes and then leaning back in his seat. I didnt dare to look at him, afraid I would give away too much if I did.

"Come Serenity, let's have dinner." Kaiba stepped out of the car but I stayed put. What was he thinking? Why did he bring me on a date? Did it have something to do with what happened in the gym?

"Serenity?" He said, leaning inside the car again.

"You could've gotten Joey to do anything you wanted... Then why this?"

"I believe the night hasn't ended yet. So you'll have to wait for your answer." Kaiba stood there waiting for me to come out. I realized the only way to get any answers was to play along with Kaiba's whims.

"This way." I smiled at the doorman who opened the door to the little restaurant. It wasn't overly flashy, it was more homey in a sense.

"Aah, Mr. Kaiba, what an honor to have you back." A chubby looking gentleman in a white apron and chef's hat approached us. "Madam, welcome to Antonio's Diner." He took my hand and placed a warm sloppy kiss on it and I resisted the urge to flinch. I threw Kaiba a look who seemed to be enjoying my discomfort.

"This way. I reserved the best seat for you." The man led us to a roomy corner which looked out into a rose garden. I admired the view and wondered how it would have been if Kaiba and I were on a real date where we actually liked each other...

"Thank you Roberto. How's your wife doing? And the baby?" Did Kaiba know the man personally? Maybe.

"Oh she's doing just fine and the baby, well she's a doll. Never thought being a father could be so wonderful." I smiled at the man who returned the warmth.

"What can I get for a beautiful young maiden like you?" I blushed at the comment. At least one person said I looked pretty tonight and it wasn't my date.

"Umm... Kaiba?" I looked over at him who was browsing the menu.

"We will both have the usual. Thanks Roberto."

"Of course. I'll be right back with your order." We sat in silence and I watched the other diners eat and the staff work and serve others.

"Are you that bored that you've resorted to playing with cutlery?" I had started toying with my knife and I looked from it to Kaiba and then put it down.

"What can I do? My date is unbelievably boring." I was treading dangerous waters. So far, Kaiba had been lenient with my snarky comments but I knew his unfazed demeanor may not last long. He was like a chameleon, always changing his colors.

"I promise you this date will be one to remember." He said, leaning back in his chair. Somehow that bothered me. I didn't want to remember it. If anything, this date was confusing me even more about my already complicated feelings. Did I like Kaiba? Did I hate him? What was Kaiba thinking?

A waiter came by and pronounced a bottle of champagne sent by the store owner. Kaiba sent his regards back and once he popped open the bottle, he poured the fizzing liquid into a glass and handed it to me.

"Kaiba, we are BOTH underage, we can't be drinking."

"It's champagne Serenity, one glass won't do anything to you." He poured his own glass and took a sip. I eyed mine, unsure if I should.

"Try it." He said, waiting for me to pick up the glass.

I wrapped the glass in my fingers and brought it to my lips and took my first sip of champagne. I thought it would be bitter and disgusting but surprisingly, it was sweet. I smiled a little and Kaiba said, "I knew you'd like it."

Our food arrived and I saw that Kaiba had ordered us some kind of fettuccine with chicken and I slowly dug in. The flavors melted in my mouth and I rejoiced in them.

"This is very good. Thank you for bringing me." I said. Kaiba stopped eating and put down his knife and fork. After a moment, his staring grew uncomfortable and I put my knife and fork down too. "What?"

"Nothing." He continued to stare.

"Take a picture Kaiba, it'll last longer." I rolled my eyes and took a sip from my glass. A warm buzzy feeling had started to spread through me and I felt even thirstier. I grabbed the bottle and poured myself a little more.

Kaiba didn't say anything to me and we continued our dinner in silence.

"Is our young couple enjoying their dinner?" Roberto came by and asked.

"Yes, thank you, the food is delicious." I said giving him a wide smile.

"I'm glad you love it. Please feel free to ask for anything should you need it."

"We will Roberto, thank you. Serenity, will you excuse me, I'll be right back." I gave him a nod and watched as he walked away to the bathroom.

My stomach felt full so I pushed the rest of the food and just poured myself some more champagne and waited. My head was now feeling a little dizzy. Odd, I'd never felt this way before in my life. Even my vision started getting blurry. Maybe I overdid it with the champagne.

"Serenity, if you are done, then we can get going."

"Sure." I said and stood up. I was feeling woozy and Kaiba steadied me as I swayed a little.

"Serenity, how much champagne did you have?"

"One glass. Wait no, two. No three. And maybe one more when you went to the toilet." His intense eyes rose and he picked up the pretty much empty bottle.

"I never knew you liked champagne so much..."

"I don't. I've never had it before." I said, giving him another big smile. Why the hell was I smiling so much?

"Okay that explains a lot. Let's get out of here before you finish their stock." Kaiba paid the bill and the restaurant owner bid us farewell and told us to come again.

"What's wrong?" Kaiba said looking at my face. My heels were hurting me and it was evident on my face as we walked towards the waiting car.

"It's my heels. They hurt." I picked up one foot and pointed at it to show Kaiba what I was talking about.

"Serenity, are you drunk?" Kaiba said, opening the door to his limo.

"No. Of course not. Why would you even say something as absurd as that?" I frowned at him and crossed my arms, not wanting to get in the car.

"Fine then prove it. Walk in a straight line." This time he crossed his arms and leaned against the car.

"Why would I do that?" I asked, noticing how the moonlight reflected off his shiny brown hair. Did Kaiba even realize how absolutely hot he was? Wait, what? What was I thinking? Did I forget what happened earlier in the car?

"To prove that you're not drunk. Let's make a deal. If you can prove you're not drunk, then I'll personally apologize to your mutt brother for insulting him and acknowledge him as a duelist. If you lose, then I get to kiss you." No way in hell was I letting Kaiba kiss me. A tingling sensation started on my lips as I remembered the incident from the gym. Kaiba knew what I was thinking about and said, "Oh I promise it'll be different this time. You're wasting time Serenity, walk." He waited and when I saw I wasn't going to get anywhere arguing with him, I started to walk. The first few steps were okay. Then I realized how unstable I really felt. Damn you Serenity, why did you have to have four glasses of champagne?!

"I said walk, not take two steps to your left." Kaiba was now behind me and I elbowed him, which he avoided easily and chuckled.

"Is Serenity having a hard time walking?" Kaiba teased me as I struggled. Keep going Serenity, don't let this idiot beat you. Think how happy Joey will be.

"Oomph." My heel twisted and I was about to fall down but Kaiba caught me in his arms.

"Forget about walking, you can't even stand up straight." He helped me up and I glared at him through my hazy eyes.

"Shut up Kaiba. I can walk just fine. It's my heels. They hurt. Everyone knows girls can't walk straight when they wear heels."

"I'm pretty sure you made that last part up." He said, holding my hand and helping me walk to the car, not that it was very far.

"No, I didn't. How do you know what girls wear heels for and all that stuff? You're a guy. And not just any guy, you are Kaiba!" I poked him in his rib cage while I said it.

"You say that as if being me is a bad thing." He got me settled into my seat and climbed in himself.

"Well yeah, you're a mean person Kaiba. Everybody knows that." I said, thinking about it. Pretty much everyone who wasn't head over heels for Kaiba thought he was a jerk.

"You should come to KCHQ some day. Perhaps your perception of me will change." He was on the other side of the seat eyeing me warily and I thought back to what he said about the kiss.

"You're not really going to kiss me right?" I said and giggled nervously.

"Of course I will, but I'd rather do it when you're not drunk." He came closer to me though and placed a hand on my cheek and started rubbing it and I froze.

"My brother said if you lay a hand on me, he's going to kick your ass."

Kaiba laughed. "I'd like to see your mutt brother try."

"Don't call my brother a mutt! Why do you two hate each other's guts? I mean granted you really are a stuck up rich snob and Joey can be a bit persistent when he doesn't get his way but you two take it to a whole new level, you even put me on the line. Speaking of which, the date is over Kaiba. Spill." I waited for him to say something as a major headache started to make its way into my head.

"I can't take you home semi drunk. Your brother might actually shoot me. Let's get you sober first."

"You don't need to worry about sobering me up. My mom isn't home. She's away on a business trip and Joey texted me earlier saying he's crashing at Mai's place." I started chewing on my fingernails, just out of a bad habit.

"Don't do that." He swatted his hand away from my mouth and I pouted.

"You're mean. Anyways so why me?" I wouldn't let Kaiba divert the conversation any longer.

"We are at your house." He turned away from me and opened the door. I crawled out after him only to be met by a large rain drop. I looked up at the sky. The clear, beautiful night sky was gone. Heavy rain clouds had rolled in and I heard the distant sound of thunder. I walked past Kaiba swiftly, needing to get inside.

"Well then, I guess this is goodnight." He started to say.

"No. You don't get to leave until you answer my question." I said as I fished for my keys in my bag. The growing tension made me more nervous. The thunder was rolling in closer and the water drops grew heavier by the second.

"Okay... Then can we do this inside? It's about to pour out here." He said looking up at the sky and then at his car.

"Good idea..." Which one was the key? The blue or the red? Ugh!

"What's taking you so long? Don't tell me you can't even open a simple door. And here I thought you were smart." He tsk'ed me and I gave him a look.

"I AM smart Kaiba. Maybe not a genius like you but I'm not stupid. I can't find the damn key because this is a new house and I still have my old house keys." A flash of lightning cracked across the sky and the rain started coming down hard. I closed my eyes and grasped the keys in my hands as the sound faded. Kaiba grabbed them from my hand and gave the keys a try and then he opened the door just as another flash of lightning lit up the sky. I rushed inside and so did Kaiba. We were partially wet but no real damage had been done.

"Honestly Serenity-" I cut Kaiba's ranting off as another clap of thunder echoed through the house and I yelped. I clutched Kaiba's arm and shut my eyes as the storm continued outside.

"Serenity, are you afraid of thunder?" I waited for the sounds to fade before opening my eyes. I realized I was still grasping his arm and he did nothing to pull away. Instead, he moved his arm and put it around me and pushed my head towards his chest. I rested it there, not moving away. Somehow, being in Kaiba's embrace made me less scared, safe even. His shirt was wet and I could feel his chest move as he breathed. I heard the rhythm of his heart and although the thunder made me shudder, his warmth made me feel better.

"You should change. If you stay in your wet clothes, you'll catch a cold." He said softly, whispering into my hair. He rested his head on it and continued to hold me.

"You're wet too… come." I said. I hated leaving his embrace but Kaiba would catch cold if he stayed like that.

"Where?" Kaiba asked as I walked towards Joey's room.

"You can wear one of Joey's shirts while yours dry. I know you don't like it, but it's all I have." I walked into Joey's room and saw the mess and shook my head. "Joey, you slob."

"Are you sure there's anything clean in here to wear?" Kaiba looked around the room and scrunched his nose.

"I'm sure if you didn't have a maid to clean your house, your house would be just as messy." I said as I raided Joey's closet. "Here, you can wear this one!" I tossed a plain blue T-shirt at him after taking a quick whiff to make sure it was clean. "Do you need pants too?"

"I don't. Besides, your brother is much shorter than I am." Kaiba took the T-shirt from my hand and started to take off his jacket.

"KAIBA!" I said.

"What?" He said stopping what he was doing.

"Have some shame, there's a bathroom. Go change in there." I said pointing at the guest bathroom outside.

He smirked at me but didn't say anything as he walked into the bathroom. I sighed after he closed the door and went into my room to changed. I stripped out of my clothes quickly and put on a old T-shirt and sweatpants.

"Serenity?" I heard Kaiba's voice echo throughout the empty hall.

"In here!" I shouted and I heard his footsteps approaching. He knocked on the door before opening it and peeking inside.

"Normally people wait to be invited in." I said as I wrapped a towel in my hair. I held out another to him and he took it from my hand and started walking around my room. What was he looking for? I watched him as he picked up a picture of me and Joey from the Battle City Tournament.

"Good times." He said and smiled at me. I nodded at him as another flash of lightning lit up the dark sky outside. I shuddered a little bit as the sounds faded. My head had started to hurt and I was sure it was the alcohol affecting my senses.

"You look sleepy. Perhaps I should leave." Kaiba said and started walking towards the door. I don't know what made me do it. Maybe I just didn't want to be alone or that I wanted Kaiba to stay...maybe both. I reached out and tugged at his shirt and he stopped.

"Serenity…?" He said my name questioningly.

"Kaiba… I know it's a lot to ask… but will you stay? At least until the storm passes through?" He turned around and tilted his head a little bit, observing me. Another flash of lightning and I looked out the window, hoping it would hurry up and fade.

"Sure." I was relieved when I heard him say that and asked if he wanted anything warm to drink.  
"Hot cocoa sounds good." He followed me into the kitchen and I started on the hot water as he crossed his arms and watched me work.

"Your head's hurting isn't it? Who on earth told you to have that much champagne?" He said.

"You're the one who insisted and how did you know?" I asked.

"You keep rubbing at your temple." He said as I poured the cocoa mix into the hot water and stirred it. I handed one cup to Kaiba and together we walked out of the kitchen and towards the living room. I settled down on the couch and Kaiba sat next to me. Now what? It was still pouring outside.

"You want to watch something on tv?" I asked.

"Sure…" He took a sip from his cup and I grabbed the remote and turned it on. There was a horror movie playing and we watched as the gruesome scenes changed and people got killed. At one point, Kaiba and I had cozied up to each other and when I was shivering, he even grabbed the old afghan on the side of the couch and covered me in it. What was this night coming to? Me and Kaiba, snuggled up like this? I started to get drowsy. The alcohol, rainy weather, and warmth from Kaiba all worked it's magic.

"Serenity." He said.

"Hmm." I replied as I struggled to keep my eyes open.

"You're almost asleep. I should go." His voice seemed so far away. I furrowed my brows, eyes still shut.

"No. It's still raining." Unconsciously, I had leaned in towards Kaiba. He smelled really good. "You smell nice." I said and snuggled closer. His body tensed up and I wondered what was wrong. I raised my head to look at him through sleepy eyes. He was looking down at me with those piercing blue eyes.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing...oddly, everything's alright." Kaiba moved to get up and I was sad at losing the warmth of his body next to mine.

"Are you leaving?" I asked.

"Do you want me to?" He asked, looking down at me.

"Well…" The lightning and thunder had subsided but the rain still came down. I would be alright now. "Yes you can...but answer my question. Why me? Why this deal?" The night was finally coming to an end. I would get my answer.

Kaiba smiled at me and in a sudden motion, picked me up in his arms and started walking towards my room. I could have protested, but I didn't. Maybe I was too tired or maybe I liked being in his arms.

He lay me down in my bed and spread my hair out over the pillow. "Go to sleep Serenity. I'll see you next week." The comfort of my bed and Kaiba's hands running through my hair made it hard to fight off the sleep.

"But...why?" I whispered, my eyes closed. He didn't speak. Instead, he continued to lull me to sleep. My breathing grew heavier and I heard Kaiba speaking but I couldn't understand his words. I was almost asleep when I felt something soft brush across my lips but I was too lazy to open my eyes and see what it was. The last thing I remember is hearing the faint sound of my bedroom door closing before sleep finally claimed me.


	8. Chapter 8

Present Day

The next morning I woke up and went about my business getting ready for work. I wore a blue suit with a white shirt and blue ribbon tied around my neck. I packed the files I was reading last night into my briefcase and made my way to work. The morning commute on the train was crowded as normal and I was happy to be following a routine again. I was a bit nervous though. God knows what would happen when I saw Jesse. I just hoped everything would return to normal.

"Serenity! Good morning." Ethan called to me as I entered the air conditioned office. We each had our own little cabins but we spent most of our time in the big board room discussing cases.

"Good morning." I said with a smile.

"Where did you disappear to Friday night? We all got worried." Of course I could never tell my other coworkers what really happened.

"I left early… besides all of you were drunk and passed out." I said remembering him and Shanaya snoring in their little booth.

"Oh...right." Ethan said, smiling slyly. "Well, Jesse is waiting for us in the board room, do you have the case files?" He asked. It didn't feel right, but I nodded and followed Ethan into the room. Everybody was in there, chatting about something. Jesse looked up from the file he was observing and smiled. There was something in his eyes as our's met. I tried to look unfazed but the look he was giving me made it very hard to control my raging emotions. I thought I could be normal around him but his face, his hands, everything about him made me want to run a bus over him. He smirked at me and my eyes widened for a moment and I was about to curse him out for having the nerve to even smirk at me after what he had done, but I stopped myself. Instead, I offered everyone a solemn good morning.

"Serenity, come here." Jesse said. I kept my calm and walked over to him. I avoided looking directly into his eyes though, afraid I'd see lust for me in them. "Show me the case files. We need to find a loophole or else our friend is going to get hanged."

"Here." I took them out of my briefcase and handed him the file. "There are inconsistencies with the police report here and here. And the doorman's alibi doesn't seem to add up." I said and pointed at places I had highlighted in the paper.

"Good. We can use this." The meeting continued normally until it was time for each of us to break up and get some other paperwork done. I had to be the first one out of there. How long would I be able to avoid having a confrontation with Jesse?

"Serenity, I have to speak with you. Will you wait a moment?" Jesse called out to me as I was almost at the door. I froze for a second.  
"I have some paperwork to finish. Perhaps later?" I said as I walked out of the room. I knew that was completely unprofessional but I had to.

"Serenity!" Shanaya called to me after she got out of there too. "Hey, is everything alright?" I could've told Shanaya but she was one of the girls who crushed on the asshole and she was one of my friends.

"Yeah, everything's fine, why do you ask?" She followed me into my little cabin and sat down in the guest chair as I walked around the desk and sat down in my rolling chair.  
"Well, you kind of bailed on Jesse back there and you've been acting weird this whole morning. Listen, if there's anything you want to talk about, you know I'm here right?" I knew she was. She had always been a good friend to me and in the short time I've known her, we really had gotten close. I felt bad about hiding this from her but if Jesse and I could sort through our differences and put this incident behind us, there was no need to spread news of it out to others.

"I know. Thanks for always being there. I've just had a rough weekend, I'll be fine when I start working again." I said as I pulled out a file from a drawer in my desk.

"When have you stopped?" She joked then got up. "Want to catch lunch later?" She asked as she was leaving the room.

"I wish I could but Jesse and I have a luncheon with our "friend"." I said. Jesse referred to our clients as friends and although I told him several times to stop it, he still insisted.  
"Oh okay, let me know how things go." She said and left. The door she opened closed behind her with a soft click, and once again I was alone. I couldn't concentrate on my work though. Soon I would have to speak to Jesse. I couldn't avoid him during lunch. What would I say to him? Judging from this morning's behavior, Jesse wasn't sorry. But if he wasn't sorry, then that made him a narcissistic bastard right? I shook my head and ordered a cup of coffee but even that didn't help. The clock on my desk finally struck one and it was time for lunch.

There was a knock on my door and through the glass, I could see it was Jesse. He had come to collect me for our meeting. I reluctantly grabbed my purse and phone and walked out the door and followed Jesse into the elevator. Another assistant attorney was in there so he didn't say or do anything. When we got into the car, he drove in silence too. I could tell he was watching me though but I avoided his gaze. The restaurant wasn't too far from the office so the uncomfortable ride was over soon. I followed him to a seat in the back of the restaurant that overlooked a small garden. I admired the waterfall that washed over the window, blending the colors from the colorful garden into one.

"Mr. Vallazio." A tall looking man in a white suit approached us and I recognized him as our client's personal assistant.

"Mr. Travers, where is Mr. Palladi?" Jesse got up and shook the man's hand and I did the same. Jesse did most of the talking throughout the meeting and I quietly ate my food. He filled the old man in on the inconsistencies we had found and how Jesse decided to use these to drive doubt into the jurors on the next court date.

"Alright, well I'll let Mr. Palladi know. I'm sure he will be thrilled with the news." Mr. Travers paid for the lunch and left the two of us.

"That old geezer really gets on my nerves." That was the first thing Jesse had said to me the whole time we had been out. I didn't reply to him, hoping my silence would be sufficient. Jesse gave me an annoyed look but didn't say a word.

"Serenity-" I cut him off. "I'm going to the bathroom." I got up immediately and left him sitting at the table. I was in the small corridor leading towards the bathroom when a strong pair of hands grabbed my back and pinned me against the wall. Pain shot up my arm and I tried to cry out but a salty hand covered my mouth. I opened my eyes and saw an angry Jesse glaring at me.

"You got some nerve to leave me hanging like that." He pushed harder on my body and my eyes teared up at the pain. No Serenity, don't cry. Don't show this man how weak you are.

"Bitch. You're going to walk out of here with me and you're going to be calm about it. Make a sound and I'll make you pay for it with your life." What happened to calm, calculated Jesse I knew? I knew he was a bit of a pervert at times but this? I could even think of forgiving him for last time because he was well out of his senses, but what excuse would I make now?  
I nodded that I understood and when he moved his hand from my mouth, I didn't scream. I followed him quietly out a side door. Nobody saw us. The restaurant was having a slow day and the staff was probably inside, having their own lunches. We came out to the indoor parking lot and walked towards his car. A couple passed by us but didn't pay us any mind as they disappeared into the elevator we just came out of. This was my chance. Jesse looked distracted as he fished out his keys from his pocket and I made a run for it. I didn't get far though. He grabbed me by the waist and I went crashing on the floor.

"Jesse! Get off!" I screamed it as loud as I could and my voice echoed in the open space. Afraid someone had heard him, he slapped me hard and kept his hand over my mouth and my muffled cries went unheard. When he was sure nobody was coming, he continued to press down on my mouth and dragged me off the floor with his other arm. My body was now aching in pain from the continued assault. Tears streaked down my cheek and I wondered what Jesse would do to me. He took my struggling body to his car and pushed me inside. I hit the inner side of the other door and my head started feeling dizzy from the impact.  
"Jesse!" I cried. My voice came out as a squeak. Jesse got in after me and used the handkerchief in his pocket to gag my mouth. He grabbed my hands too and pinned then on top. He couldn't manage my legs though and in one quick shot, I pushed myself up and hit the glass behind me hard enough to break through it. The glass came showering down on us and I heard Jesse curse out loud. He scrambled out of the car and I used the opportunity to bolt out the other side as Jesse shook glass from his hand and clothes. Some of it dug into my skin but I didn't care about the pain.

"Serenity!" He screamed after me but I didn't wait to see what he did next. I bolted for my life, abandoning my heels. The roughness of the pavement was uncomfortable but that was the least of my worries. I followed the exit signs and soon found myself in the little alleyway that opened up to the main street. I wondered how I looked as I bolted through the busy streets of Manhattan, bloody, torn clothes, no shoes.  
I hailed a cab and jumped into it, immediately telling the man my home address. The driver gave me looks the whole way home but didn't make a sound. I was lucky to still have my phone and bag on me. I paid the man quickly and rushed up to my apartment. The doorman and receptionist gave me odd looks too but I ignored them. I fished out my keys and immediately ran into my apartment, deadbolting the door behind me. Then I cried. I cried forever. What was going on in my life? Why was Jesse after me?

My phone kept on buzzing in my purse but I ignored it. I was afraid Jesse might come up to my apartment, but nobody knocked on my door. After an hour of just lying on the floor, I got up and attended to my wounds. I showered first then took the first aid kid and cleaned up the cuts from the glass and put ice on my bruises. It wasn't so bad, but my arms looked black and blue. At least my face was spared, except for the cut on my lip from when Jesse had slapped me. I thought about calling the cops but I knew Jesse's reach was high and he'd be bailed out soon enough. Even being a lawyer didn't make me any safer. I just had to cut him out of my life. I would not go back there to work. I made myself a cup of tea and sat down with it and my phone.

Ten missed calls. Some were from my workplace, maybe Jesse? The last one however, caught my eye. It was an unknown number but I knew who it belonged to. Without wanting to, I had memorized his number from a few nights ago when he'd sent me that text.

There was a voicemail. I played it and upon hearing his voice, I cried again. How I wanted him to be here, just to make me feel safe again. He wanted me to call him back. Should I?

After much contemplating, I dried my tears and took a quick breath before pressing the call button. Three rings later, a woman picked up.

"Thank you for calling Kaiba Corp. How may I help you?"  
"Yes...Hello, my name is Serenity Wheeler. May I please speak to Mr. Kaiba?"  
"Mr. Kaiba is in a meeting, can I take a message?" She sounded annoyed and my heart dropped a little at him not being available.  
"Sure...just tell him I called." I said and when I made sure she got the message, I hung up. I fell asleep on my couch thinking about him, wondering if she would pass on my message.

When I woke up, it was already dark outside and it hurt for me to move my muscles. Wow, Jesse really had done a number on me. The swelling however had gone down considerably thanks to the ice packs I had placed on them. They now lay full of water on my floor and slowly, I picked them up and put them back in my freezer. I was about to start making dinner when my phone buzzed. It was him. I cleared my throat and picked up.

"Hello?"  
"Serenity, I've been calling you. Where have you been?" He sounded so informal, I was glad for the familiarity. My heart both ached and leapt at the sound of his raspy voice.

"I've been...fine. And you?"

"I'm fine. I...umm.. I called ….I called because...well...I have two tickets to the movies...a colleague of mine is the producer of the movie...I was wondering if you wanted to go…" A date. That's what he was calling for. It sounded like a really bad idea.

"Umm...I don't know...I have some stuff to do…" I really wanted to say yes though.

"I'm not taking no for an answer. I'll come by your apartment in an hour to pick you up." He didn't wait for me to say no and he hung up. Great, did I really have to go out in this condition? After half an hour of considering if I should call Kaiba and tell him to not come, I decided to get ready. I wore a light cream sweater to cover the bruising on my arms and left my long auburn hair down to cover any other marks from the day's earlier abuse. Perhaps a night out with an old friend would be good for me… No, I had to remember Kaiba was not an old friend. He was nothing to me. I scolded myself to remember that, no matter what.

I was finishing my make up when the intercom buzzed and the doorman downstairs announced Kaiba was here. I told him to let him up and I grabbed my bag and put on my shoes just as Kaiba rang the doorbell. I walked over and opened it for him. He was standing there, a bouquet of flowers in his hand. He wore a suit as usual, but he looked more relaxed somehow. Seeing him standing there made me want to hug him, but I kept myself from doing any such thing.

"Hey…" He said. I smiled at him and let him in. The smile made my lip hurt though. My lipstick had done it's job to cover the split though.  
"Hey, come in. You want anything before we leave?" I asked as he settled onto the couch he had fallen asleep in just a few nights ago.

"No, in fact, we should head out, lest you want to be late." He said, handing me the flowers. I took them as graciously as I could and placed them in an empty vase. I would fill it with water later and add some sugar to make sure they lasted longer.

"Well I'm ready, so let's go."  
"Alright." Kaiba and I exited my apartment and headed downstairs to his waiting car.

"Have a great night, madam, sir." Ali said as we exited the building. He seemed unusually fond of Kaiba and I remembered why. I gave him a stern gaze as we passed and he replied with a nervous smile.

I was quiet the whole ride to AMC theater. As usual, it was crowded. The trip reminded me of our very first date and suddenly, I didn't want to go. The memories were too painful.  
"Kaiba...I don't want to go to the movies." I said.

"Would you like to go somewhere else then?" He asked.

"Yes… let's go to Roosevelt Island." He didn't question me but he did insist we have dinner somewhere first. He picked the restaurant and I enjoyed the french cuisine. He didn't speak about our shared past, mostly talking about his company and how things were going with Mokuba and him. It was relaxing, to hear about someone else and not worry about myself.  
"Serenity, are you alright?" I had spaced out while listening to Kaiba and he brought me back saying that.

"Huh? Oh, well, yeah I'm fine. You continue, I'm listening." I said.

"Oh yeah? What did I just say?" Kaiba said.

"I...umm..weren't you talking about your deal with that old chinese guy, right?" I asked, grabbing for anything.

"No. I've been noticing you all night. There's something off about you. And your lip, what happened?" He asked pointing at it.

"Oh, this nothing." I used a napkin to dab at my lip realizing that my lipstick was almost gone as it disappeared along with my dinner. So much for 24 hour gloss.

"Serenity." He said sternly and I panicked. I got up and was ready to walk out when he grabbed my arm. Pain shot up through my hand as he pressed down on the bruise and without meaning to, I flinched. He noticed it though. My eyes met his and immediately, he rolled up my sleeve. His eyes grew wide as he took in the dark marks that Jesse had left on my body and I could see the anger rising in them. He let go of my arm and called for the check. I stood there as he paid for our dinner and this time, he took my hand with extra care and led me through the little crowd and outside into the waiting car.

"Serenity." He said as we entered the car. I avoided his eyes, ashamed. "Serenity!" I finally looked at him and he looked absolutely terrifying. "Who did this to you?"

I didn't answer him.

"Serenity, I will ask you one more time, who did this to you?" He hooked his fingers under my chin and turned my head to face him. "Was it Jesse?" Tears came to my eyes but I still didn't answer. "Serenity, answer me! Did that son of a bitch do this to you?" He shouted this time. I slowly nodded my head, knowing very well he wouldn't stop until I answered him.

"I'm going to kill him." Kaiba said and let go of me and pulled out his phone. I knew he was serious so I immediately took it from his hand. He stared at me, speechless.

"What are you doing? Give me my phone back."

"Me? What do you think you're doing?"

"I told you, I'm going to kill that piece of shit." He tried to get his phone back and when he reached for it, I brought it out of his reach. That put pressure on my shoulder and I immediately coiled my hand back and pressed down on my shoulder with my other hand. Kaiba stopped what he was doing and asked if I was okay. When I finally answered him, he asked why I came out with him if I was injured. He asked why I hadn't called him.

"I knew this was how you were going to act. I know you Kaiba. Better than anyone, perhaps." I looked at Kaiba who still looked angry. I could see the concern though, in his eyes. It was good to know that he still cared despite what he had put us through.

"What do you want me to do then?" He asked quietly.

"Nothing. I've decided to quit. I don't want to get messed up with Jesse. As for my career, there are plenty other law firms I could apply to." I wasn't sure about that, if Jesse wanted, he could have easily stopped me from getting hired elsewhere, but for now, that problem could wait. Right now, I had to calm Kaiba down.

"Fine. I'm not taking you to Roosevelt Island tonight, you're going home so you can rest." I didn't argue with him. We rode in silence the rest of the way home. I wondered what he was thinking about, but Kaiba was as silent as a bat.

He got out of the car and helped me up to my apartment. It wasn't very late though and I wondered if I should invite him in.

"I'll come tomorrow. Get some rest and no getting up and going anywhere tomorrow."

"I-" I started to say but Kaiba stopped me. He put his hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes. Then he leaned in, placed a soft kiss on my forehead, whispered goodnight and then walked away. I didn't call after him or say anything. I opened my front door in a trancelike state and before entering it, me and Kaiba gave each other one last look. He disappeared into the elevator and I entered my apartment, feeling even lonelier than before. What was I going to do? I was now jobless, I was abused and injured, an unforgettable person from my past is now out to get my ex boss? Why was this happening to me?


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning I woke up late. The medicine I took really helped though. The swelling was pretty much gone and the warm shower I took did wonders for the pain. This was the first time in months that I had a Tuesday morning open with nothing to do. I got several texts from Shanaya asking where I was but I didn't reply to any of them. Instead, I devoted my morning to job searching. Jobs were available but none that called out to me to be taken. None of them were right. This was going to be harder than I thought. I took a sip of my coffee and was about to put the cup down as my phone buzzed.

"Hello?"

"Good, you're up. I'm bringing you lunch. I hope you still like sushi." It was Kaiba.

"You really don't have to." I said.

"Be quiet. I'm already here. Just open the door." Moments later, he stood in my doorway with a packet in his hand marked with the name of a famous sushi restaurant not far from where I lived.

"Come in." I said. He too off his coat and shoes and settled on to the couch as I brought some plates and glasses.

"Hurry up. I'm starving." I gave him a smile and served him first and then took some for myself.

"Thank you, you really didn't have to do this. I was going to order take out anyways." I said shoving a piece of shrimp tempura into my mouth.

"Be quiet and eat." I scowled at the man who ate silently. After we were done and the plates were cleared, I came back to the living room to find Kaiba looking at the paper.

"See an article about you?" I teased him. I surprised myself, how was it possible to be so normal with him.

"No. Serenity, what's all of this?" I walked around the couch to get a better look at what Kaiba was looking at it.

"Exactly what it looks like to you. I'm looking for a new job." I said as I sat down next to him and took the paper from his hand. He leaned forward and stared at my arms. They were still a little bruised and he absent-mindedly stroked his fingers across the surface. I shuddered at his touch and he stopped when our eyes met.

"I told you to take care of yourself. You never listen to me." I could tell he wanted to say much more but he was restraining himself. I didn't know if I should be thankful or upset for him doing so. He took the paper back, seeming to be back in his normal callous mood. "So, did you find anything?"  
"No, not yet. But I'm still looking."

"Well...if you're interested, there's a position in my company I think you'd be great for." He said.

"No thanks-"I started to say but he cut me off.

"Hear me out." He put a finger to my lips and I looked down at it with crossed eyes and then at him. When he was convinced I would listen, he moved his finger away. "I know you're a very independent girl and I'm not doing it for you out of pity or because of the situation you're in. I'm asking because I need you. If you don't like it, you can quit anytime." I watched him carefully. He seemed determined, even desperate of sorts, to get me to say yes.  
"What is the job?" I asked, cautious about the way I said it. I didn't want to seem to keen and have Kaiba get the wrong idea.

"Be my personal secretary." He said. It was as if he was asking me to marry him, at least that's what he sounded like. He was even on his knee looking at me. I bit my tongue, trying to hold a laugh back but it was too much to take and I burst out laughing. He looked at me confused and sat back on the couch and watched me as I continued to giggle.

"What's so funny?" He asked serious. That made me laugh even more. Kaiba had always been clueless when it came to the actions he did around me.

Once I stopped, I wiped a stray tear from the corner of my eye and looked at him. This was the man that had meant so much to me. And now he was supposed to mean nothing, yet in my time of need, he was here. "You haven't changed at all Kaiba." I said smiling at him. He blushed a little and looked away, clearly speechless.

"I-what do you think?" He asked, trying to seem serious but failing at it all together.

"There's nothing to think about. I appreciate the offer, but I can't." I said, declining.

"But why?" He didn't seem to understand.

"Kaiba, I didn't bust my ass through high school and law school at such an early age to become a PA to some CEO." I said. My excuse was true. Ever since I was a kid, I knew I was meant to be a lawyer. I had been afraid to dream then but after my operation, I dreamt of big things and until recently, I was so close to achieving them.

"I understand that, but at the moment, there are no legal positions open in my company." He said, troubled.

"That's not the point." I said. I really didn't want to go into the other reasons I had. That would make this already weird situation even more uncomfortable.

"Then what is it? Tell me!" He seemed persistent. How do I get out of this mess?

"Kaiba, you can't just ask me to be your secretary. Don't you already have one?"

"No, I fired her. That's why I need your organizational skills. You see, it would be beneficial both ways."  
"No. Sorry." I said. I knew it hurt his feelings and I didn't want to but honestly, no I was not doing a secretary's job.

"I see." Kaiba's demeanor changed and as expected, his professional face replaced the personal side he was showing me and he looked at his watch. "Well, the offer is on the table for the time being. Should you need it, I am available at my office or call me. I have to get going. I have a meeting." He got up and started putting his suit jacket on. He didn't wait for me to say anything and I knew there was nothing I could do or say to fix his mood. I knew he'd be brooding the rest of the evening.  
"Take care of yourself Serenity, I mean it." I wondered if he would kiss my forehead like the night before but he didn't. After an awkward silence I gave him a smile and he turned around and walked towards the elevator. I shut the door and sighed.

The next few days, Kaiba didn't call or text. Was he still mad? Maybe it was for the best. I continued to apply to jobs but no replies came and I started to get angsty. Shanaya called again and when I finally picked up, she went off at me like crazy. I explained to her that for family reasons, I had to quit. She was upset of course but she promised to come see me soon. I asked her to bring my things from my cabin for me if she decided to drop by. She asked me about Jesse, but I avoided the topic, vaguely explaining I already had a conversation with him.

Joey and my mom called too. After some chattering I got bored and told them I had to make dinner. Being jobless sure meant I had a lot of free time with nothing to do.

The month came to an end and October rolled in. The rent was due and so were my other bills. I had a hefty savings so I didn't worry much, but that changed. I got a call from my landlord alerting me that the check I sent him for the rent had bounced. At first I didn't understand and so I called my bank. I felt like my world had come to an end as the customer service agent told me my bank had been emptied out three days ago. All of savings were gone. All $43,000. I was saving that money to buy a nice house. I tried to tell them that I didn't do any such thing but all of the information that was used to transfer the money to an offshore account was right. They even had a valid signature on file… but how? I put my hand on my head and sank down to the floor. What on earth was happening? After much conversation, the bank decided to put my accounts on hold, allowing me access to just the measly $3,000 in my checking account. More than half of that money would disappear for my rent and then I still had my other bills to pay. Then what would I do?

I hung up and went to bed. My head was aching from the stress everything was putting on me. Tomorrow, I would have to go out on foot and find a job. Any job would do for now.

To my surprise, every law firm I inquired with sent me a vague rejection letter. One rejection letter after another, sent me into a deeper depression. Joey would be arriving in a few more days. The fashion show had been delayed so they ended up rebooking their tickets, which was good because I couldn't have my family see me like this.  
The next morning I got up and sat down on my dining table with a steaming cup of tea in my hand. What was I going to do? The little money in my bank account was dwindling and already I didn't have enough for next month's rent.

My phone buzzed with a text and I opened it to see Kaiba's name flashing on the screen. It had been two weeks since he'd been in my home. "Are you free tonight?" Should I reply?

I texted back yes and he texted back asking me to be ready at 7 sharp. Another night out with Kaiba, this should be interesting.

Later that evening, I put on a dark blue blouse and a pair of khaki colored pants and pulled a heavy cardigan over it and waited for Kaiba to show. He texted me to come downstairs and so I grabbed my purse, phone, and keys and went downstairs. Chilling winds had picked up outside and I was glad to be out of it as I entered the car, even though I was in it for just a few seconds.

"Hello. Nice to see you again." I said, trying to sound cheerful.  
"Likewise." He said, awarding me with one of his rare smiles.

"How have you been?"

"Good, and you?" He answered. The only thing worse than a teasing, familiar Kaiba was a professional one.

"I've been good…so…why did you ask me if I was free tonight?"

"You asked to go to Roosevelt Island the last time we met. I was away in Japan for the past week so I couldn't take you. But tonight I will." I stared at Kaiba, not knowing what to say.

"Wow..thanks..I guess." Why was Kaiba doing this? What did he have to gain from taking me out? He and I both knew our past together was too complicated to think about anything other than a mutual dislike for each other. Yet here we were, driving off to Roosevelt Island.

"How's your job search going?" He asked, looking out his side of the window at the lighted city going by.

"Good." I said. Crap I shouldn't have said that.  
"Just good?" He said, turning his attention towards me.  
"Yes, it's going fine." I said trying to cover my quick answer. Kaiba knew me too well.

"Serenity, how long have we known each other?" He asked me.

I thought back to it. Three years in high school and the other four we hadn't talked for. "Seven...I guess."  
"Right, so what makes you think I won't know when you're lying?"

"I'm not lying...I've just ran into some obstacles."  
"And what are these obstacles?" He asked. There was something there in the tone of his voice, but I couldn't place it.

"It's nothing serious." I said, trying to avoid the subject altogether.

"Why do I feel like you're still lying?" He was smirking now.

"You already know don't you?" That was why Kaiba had called me out in the first place. Because he knew I was growing desperate.

"Stop the car." Kaiba continued to smirk, oblivious to what I just said. "Kaiba, stop this car right now!" I was enraged now. I should have known that he wouldn't let up that easily. He never did, he would go to any means necessary. I knew for a fact he wasn't the one to empty my bank account, that had to have been Jesse, but Kaiba had kept tabs on me.

"Why are you so angry?" He said, calmly.

"Seto Kaiba! I mean it! Stop this car at once!" I shouted. I banged on the screen that separated us from the chauffeur and told him to stop.

"Stop that." He said. I didn't listen. Once again I had let Kaiba get to me and it filled me with a kind of loathing towards myself for even thinking of letting Kaiba come near me. Evidently I had forgotten what Kaiba had done to me.

"Serenity! Stop it! Now!" His voice boomed through the car and I stopped. My angry honey brown eyes met his metallic blue eyes and I could see the command in them.

"Intimidating me doesn't work anymore Kaiba. I was your puppet once but not anymore. Let me out this instance!" I said through my teeth. I held back tears that threatened to appear any moment. I cursed at myself for letting this happen to me again.

"I will. Just tell me why you are so angry?" I ignored him and continued to curse at myself and take long, deep breaths.

"I'm waiting." The sound of his irritating voice set me off.

"Are you fucking kidding me? How dare you keep tabs on me like that? Use me again? You have no right! Absolutely no right!" I shouted at him. The tears I was holding back finally flowed out yet Kaiba was completely still, silent and watching me.

I wiped at my tears and took another deep breath trying to regain my composition.

"Are you done?" He asked as he pulled out a handkerchief from his breast pocket. I ignored his gesture and rummaged in my bag for some tissues.

"Why can't you ever make things easy?" Kaiba leaned towards me but this time I had my guard up. I raised my hands and I pushed him back. I could tell from Kaiba's eyes that he did not expect that.

"You're being very childish." Kaiba put the handkerchief away and waited for me to finish wiping my tears.

"I said to stop the car. Don't you understand English?" I said. I just wanted to get away from him. Why had I agreed to meet with him anyways. As if things weren't bad enough and now I had him to deal with.

"Serenity, please listen to me."

"Are you crazy! Why would I ever listen to you?! All you've ever done to me is hurt me, use me, and then throw me aside. Seto Kaiba! It may be easy for you to forget the past but it isn't for me. I will never listen to you. I will never trust you! And I will never love you again!" I hadn't meant to say that last part but it had come out. I stopped my ranting and immediately put my head in my hands. This was so embarrassing.

"I know." He said softly. I slowly peeked from behind my hands and looked at him. He was no longer looking at me. His eyes were looking out his window but I knew he wasn't here. "Oliver, please drop Ms. Wheeler to her home." Kaiba said and I felt the car make a u turn and I realized that very soon the disastrous night was coming to an end. I counted down to the last few minutes I would ever spend with Seto Kaiba. Years ago I had vowed to never see him again, never speak to him again, but in the past few weeks I had broken each promise so easily. This time, I had to make it last. The car came to a stop and without a second glance at Kaiba, I got out of the car and walked straight towards the doors to the apartment complex. A small part of me wanted Kaiba to come after me, but I knew him. He would never do that. Even when I walked away from him four years ago, he hadn't stopped me. Why would he do it now?

I banged my apartment door shut and raced to the bathroom. I hadn't eaten anything yet I felt so nauseous. After dry heaving a little bit, I relieved my stomach of its lunch and sat there on the bathroom floor for a good while. When my joints started aching, I got off of the floor and stripped down. A long bath and a quiet dinner followed by a nice bottle of wine and a good book. Yes, I would turn this night around.

The warmth of the water caressed my body and I closed my eyes, remembering a different kind of warmth radiating from a man I never knew I could love. We were both on my sofa back home, cuddled up while it rained outside. Why couldn't I have those moments back?

After a long soak, I got out of the tub and to my frustration, realized I had put my bathrobe and towels to wash. The extra towels were in the corridor outside and so I unlocked the bathroom door and stepped outside. I was walking past the living room towards my bedroom when I spotted something. Not something, someone. Kaiba was sitting there, legs crossed, head turned down as he looked at something on his phone. The sound of my footsteps alerting him that I was there and he lifted his head to look at me. It would have all been alright except that I was naked and Kaiba was looking at me.


	10. Chapter 10

Our eyes locked for the shortest moment and I saw him assess the situation. His face turned a deep shade of red and I felt my own face flush too as he snapped his head in the other direction and closed his eyes. I stood there paralyzed for one more second before running for my room. The door shut behind me and I stood there, shaking.

"Oh my god. What just happened?" I whispered to myself. Kaiba had seen me. Naked. I wanted to be back in the tub, drowning this time. My embarrassment gave way to anger really quick though and I pulled on whatever I could find and trudged outside.

Kaiba still sat there, quietly, seemingly in the same position.

"Serenity!" His eyes opened and he stood up as I marched in. I did the first logical thing that came to mind. I shoved him and he ended up splayed on the sofa.

"How dare you break into my apartment! I'm calling the cops on your perverted ass!" I reached for my home phone but Kaiba beat me to it.

"Hey. Give that here!" I tried to reach for it but nothing worked.

"Will you please be calm. I did not break in! I was about to ring the bell when I noticed it was open!" He said and I still glared at him. After a while his eyes softened and he said, "I- I um- am sorry for well seeing you like that." He blushed a little bit and then cleared his throat. I realized how close we were and I took a step back, allowing us both some space to breath.

I shook my head and scowled at him. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to apologize. It was not my intention to hurt you, but Serenity, men like Jesse, they don't back off so easily. Just look at you? You haven't been able to find a job and you're bankrupt. It won't stop. He'll keep coming at you." Kaiba was serious.

"You think I don't know that? Still Kaiba, you have no right to snoop around in my life like that." I said as I let loose the hair in my towel.

"I know...I am sorry Serenity. For everything." His voice was low and I could tell that he meant it. An apology from Seto Kaiba was a rarity.  
"Whatever, if there isn't anything else, I'd like to get some sleep." I started making my way towards the door to show Kaiba out.

"Actually, there is. I got us dinner." He started walking towards the dining room, and sure enough, dinner in the form of a pizza box sat on the table. "It's mushroom and spinach, just the way you like it." I was surprised Kaiba had remembered.

"I don't like mushroom and spinach any more." I said as I opened the box.

"I can tell you're lying. You ordered a whole pie of it last week with your credit card." Kaiba said.

"You are such a stalker!" I smacked him on his arm but he just smiled. I admired his smiles, ever since I was in high school. He reserved them only for people who were close to him and at one time, I was one of those very few. But what was I to him now?

"Let's eat. Do you have anything to drink?" I brought out the wine bottle I was thinking of having and some plates and glasses. We moved our dinner to the living room and turned on the T.V. After my third slice, I pushed my plate back and collapsed back on the couch. "No more."

"You eat like a pig now." Kaiba said. I got up and smacked him on his arm. "You're the pig. A horrible, stalking, narcissistic pig!"  
"Calm down. So now that that's over, what are you going to do?" I stopped glowering at him and realized he was talking about my situation.

"I don't know. I do have options in retail since I have experience in customer service but I don't know. If push comes to shove, I'll do it."  
"Serenity, think about my offer. Think about the benefits this job offers as well as the security. Right now, you are on Jesse's hit list. It will be very hard for you to practice law here. He has friends in high places, but mind you, so do I. Your situation isn't permanent. We can do something to turn it around." I thought about what Kaiba said. He was right, in order for me to fight Jesse and actually get results, I would need back up. It was a win win situation on both sides.  
"I'll consider it, okay?" I picked up my glass of wine and took a sip.

"I'll wait for an answer." Kaiba took one last sip from his glass and then got up to go. "Come to my office tomorrow. I'll send a car tomorrow to pick you up in the morning."

"I have things to do." I said as I walked him out.

"I know you don't. Please. Just come." He stopped for a second and turned to look at me. I blushed when I thought about what happened earlier. Kaiba had seen more of me than I wanted him to. What was he looking at now? "Goodnight Serenity." I nodded at him and watched as he walked towards the elevator.

I had a hard time sleeping that night, thinking about Kaiba's offer. Should I do it? Even if it's for a little while?

The next morning Kaiba texted me that his car would be arriving in an hour to pick me up and I reluctantly got out of bed and got ready. I donned one of the suits I had hanging in my closet for nearly a month now and put my hair into a tight bun. The car arrived right on time and I felt a little weird riding Kaiba's limo without him actually in it. When we finally got to Kaiba Corps branch in New York, I stepped out of the car and thanked the driver before disappearing into the lobby. The building itself was magnificent. A moderate skyscraper standing on the skyline of famous New York City. The decor inside was modern, tech like to say the least. The KC logo was engraved in large letters into a stone tablet right behind the receptionist's desk and pictures of Mokuba and Seto from when they were younger were strewn on the walls. In fact, I took a closer look and saw there were pictures of various tournaments and their participants everywhere. There was even a shot of Kaiba and Yugi dueling with their Egyptian gods from the Battle City tournament.

"Miss Serenity? Mr. Kaiba has asked that you follow me upstairs." A slender looking African American woman had approached me with a file in her hand. Her haircut reminded me of Tea's cropped hair and she had unusual grey eyes. She was very pretty. Who was she?  
"Of course." I said as she waited for me to speak. I followed her onto an elevator and swiftly, we arrived at the top floor.

"This way." There were people working everywhere. I remembered a scene like this from before, when I had first visited Kaiba at his office. Everyone was hard at work, afraid to slack off because if there was one thing Seto Kaiba did not tolerate, it was slacking off.

The woman knocked on Kaiba's door and when she got the approval, she opened the door and let me in. It was like stepping into a time warp. The room looked exactly the way it had four years ago, except that was in Domino and we were in New York.

"Do you like it?" Kaiba stood up from his rolling chair and indicated the rest of the room with his hands.  
"Sure...but...it looks-" I started to say uneasily.

"Exactly like my office in Domino, I know. I find it easier to work in a certain environment so I had Mokuba set up New York's head office as a replica of the original KCHQ office back in Domino." He looked around and smiled. I looked at him like he was crazy and I turned to see what the African American lady was thinking.

She seemed uninterested though, standing there as if waiting for Kaiba to tell her to do something.

"Serenity, this is Susan. She handles all of our new hires and terminations. Nothing gets past her, so while you're here, make sure you're working." Kaiba said. Susan gave him a quick smile before returning to her rigid posture.

"Nice to meet you Susan." I said, trying to appear friendly. I held out my hand and she shook it lightly before saying "Likewise Serenity. I have all of your paperwork right here. I personally do not see the need to hire a lawyer as a secretary. Your credentials are quite authentic and you seem overqualified for this job. As the hiring manager, I would like to ask. Is there any specific reason you are applying for this job?" Her voice was kind of deep and it demanded respect and professionalism.

"I know I am overqualified for this job. I am doing this because Kai- I mean Mr. Kaiba insisted and because at the moment, I am in need."

"I see. Well Mr. Kaiba, everything seems to be fine. I have the contract ready if you would like to go over it with her. I will leave you to it then." Susan walked over to Kaiba and handed the file to him. "If you require anything else, please call." Susan said and walked out. The glass door closed softly behind her and the screen on it assured us privacy in Kaiba's large cabin.

"She's quite the character. You begin to like her as you get to know her." That statement made me look at Kaiba and I wondered if he liked her. That irritated me somehow and I decided to change the subject.

"Let's see the contract then." I said. "May I sit down?"  
Kaiba smiled at me and led me to my chair. I sat opposite him and he handed me the contract. He sat in silence as I read through it. Most of it was boring stuff like company policies and what to do in case of emergencies. Then I got to one clause and my eyebrow rose up at Kaiba.  
"I know you know why I'm looking at you. What is this? You told me I could quit at any time." I said to Kaiba,

"I know. But this is company policy and I can't go against it." He said.

"Of course you can. You're the CEO." I said. I looked down at the fine print on the paper. "The duration of this contract is binding until six months of the signed date. As per company policy, termination of this contract can only be approved by authorized personnel. If the employee wishes to terminate the agreement, then he or she will have to pay a termination fee and will also have to pay the company back for any lost time regarding training and other work related activities. Also, if the employee was given an advance at the beginning of their employment, he or she must pay back ten fold to the company. Similarly, if an employee takes a loan from the company, he or she must pay the loan off completely and with interest before officially leaving the company. If these requirements are not met, the company has the right the prosecute the offender."

"Yes, so?"  
"I'm not signing this."

"It's just a technicality." Kaiba was now observing me with his stringent eyes, waiting to see what I would do next.

"This was not what you told me." I said again.

"Will you sign it or not?" Kaiba asked, ignoring my statement.

"This document will bind me to your company for six months, Kaiba." I said looking at the papers in my hand and then at him.

"Yes it will." I didn't understand. He sat there, calm and calculated. What was he trying to do? "So, are you signing them or not? I do have other, qualified people to conduct this job." He was right. In the end, this wasn't a win win situation. In the end, I was the one in need. I was the one who was jobless. I was the one who needed the money. There was no surviving in the concrete jungle without money and I had much more to do than survive. Kaiba had said something about going up against Jesse and that had inspired me to do my best. If I had to practice law in New York and make my dreams come true, I would have to swallow my pride and work with Kaiba. No, not work WITH him, work UNDER him.  
"Serenity?" Kaiba said my name and I looked up at him. No. No matter what, Jesse would not get away with what he had done to me. He had abused me, not once but twice, and he had left me crippled in so many more ways. He was going to pay. There was a long path in front of me and the first step on that path was to start working for Seto Kaiba. It was funny how two men, two very powerful men were now deciding the paths I would walk on. I hated that they were able to manipulate me like so, but right now, there was no other way. I grabbed a pen from Kaiba's pen holder and flipped through the paper's signing wherever necessary. I could see Kaiba watching me with his keen eyes, waiting for me to sign off my freedom.


	11. Chapter 11

Four Years Ago

Kaiba's POV

I watched Serenity drift off to sleep. She looked like sleeping beauty and without meaning to, I leaned down and kissed her. Her lips were soft and I her her mumble in her sleep. I stayed there a moment longer and watched her sleep, her chest moving in a steady rhythm. The rain outside had finally let up and I was growing tired too. I left her sleeping in her room as I walked outside and into my waiting car. My chauffeur had fallen asleep and I tapped on the window and he woke up with a start.

The entire ride home I thought about Serenity. She was a fierce soul alright. I hadn't expected that at all. Sure Wheeler had spirit but his sister always came across as a soft spoken person. I remembered the day I first saw this fierce spirit in her.

The Incident at the Gym

It was after school and my idiot brother had decided to get himself in trouble with the gym instructor. I was asked to meet Mr. Kiruma after school in his office to discuss Mokuba's actions and when I arrived, his office was locked and dark. Where was the man? I looked around, annoyed to have been called to a meeting that the other party was late too. I pushed my sleeve up to get a clear view of the watch on my wrist. It read five past three. He was supposed to meet me at three, he was only five minutes late. I would wait five more and then I'd leave. If he had an issue with that, he could take it up with Roland.

The door to the gym swung open and I watched as two girls in their gym uniforms walked in. I recognized one of them. I watched as Wheeler's sister carried a box full of some kind of fluffy stuff and set it down on the bleachers. The girl walking next to her carried a similar box and did the same. The two of them were laughing but the girl stopped when she finally noticed that they weren't alone. Serenity followed her friend's gaze and watched as her eyes widened as they found mine.

The girl next to her started whispering about something and it annoyed me as they threw nervous glances in my direction. I don't know why I did it but I spoke up and said, "It's rude to talk about someone behind their back. Say whatever you have to say to my face." I said, loud enough for the girls to hear me. Normally, I never associated with the stupid high school girls but Serenity was a part of the geek squad and being a part of them meant being a part of the rival party and not just another stupid high school girl.

Serenity and the other girl threw one last nervous glance my way before they started to walk out the door. Well that was rude. Somehow, that made me mad. Why would she ignore me like that? I didn't expect her to be like her dumb brother and make some half ass comment, but I did expect a reply at least.

"Hey." I said. Serenity and her friend stopped to look at me. I had started to make my way towards them as the shrill sound of someone's phone going off rang throughout the gym. The other girl digged into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She gave me and Serenity one quick look before telling Serenity to continue and she bailed on her. Serenity watched her friend go in disbelief and then turned to look at me as I got closer. She wasn't that short, in fact she seemed tall for girls her age. She had honey brown eyes and long auburn hair that she had tied in a knot above her head.

"So you like talking behind people's backs?" I asked. She looked at me nervous and when I thought she wouldn't answer, she shook her head.

"I think I remember you having a voice." I said as I remembered the annoying voice of Serenity Wheeler asking me to land the blimp when Ryu Bakura had gotten hurt.

"I do." She said, her voice soft. She gave me an odd look and then turned to pick up her box.

"What are you doing here?" I asked as she picked up the box and started climbing the bleacher steps.

"I...I'm on the school sports committee so I help out whenever there's a sporting event on campus." I looked at the other box her friend had left sitting there and I noticed banners and fliers of the upcoming softball tournament coming up. I watched as she started taking one of the banners out and placed it on the wall measuring where it should go.

"Damn it." I heard her say softly as she tried to get the banner through one of the hooks on the wall. She gave it a couple of tries, but it didn't work. I walked up the steps and when I got behind her, I took the banner from her stretched hands and hooked it on.

"Oh!" She seemed startled and when she turned around, she almost sent me and her both toppling to the floor.

"Hey! Watch it!" I said as I steadied her and me both. I held her in my arms and I waited for her to steady herself. She looked up at me slowly and I realized what she must have been thinking. Her face turned a pinkish color and for the first time, I realized how cute she was. Up close, her eyes looked bigger and her skin was a nice creamy shade.

"Umm.." She said as I continued to look at her. "Can you please let go? I'm okay now." Her voice was still soft, but I could sense she was a little uncomfortable.

"You need to be more careful. I'll help you until your partner returns." I said as I let her go and stepped back.

"There's no need, really. I'll be fine." She was already walking towards the other end of the bleacher, pulling the long banner with her. I picked up one edge of it and followed her. I watched as she continued to try and get it on the hook. She looked over at me and then at the wall. Was she going to ask me for help? Moments passed and I decided that she wouldn't as she tried to jump up and get the hook in place. I grew impatient looking at her and took the other end of the banner from her and placed it on the hook.

"I said I didn't need any help. I almost had it." She said, scowling at me.

"Yeah, sure you did. There are a few more. Tell me where they go and I'll put them up." She looked at me oddly and I wondered what was up with that look.

"You're being awfully helpful. It doesn't suit you." Her words surprised me and I took a step back. What was that supposed to mean? "Anyways, I have two more. They go here and there." She said pointing at two other walls.

I didn't say a word and just followed her with the box in my hands and put up the banners. When we were done, she walked to the center of the gymnasium and observed each of them before giving a nod. "Thank you for your help. I can take it from here." She said. Something about her attitude had changed. This wasn't the soft spoken girl I remembered from the blimp. She was more confident, spirited to say the least. Then again, how much did I even know about her other than the fact that she was Wheeler's sister and that she looked pretty cute when she blushed.

"Your friend isn't back yet." I said.

"I know." She said as she digged through the box. She pulled out a couple of fliers and a roll of tape and started walking towards the door.

"So I said I would help you until your friend returned." Why was I being so persistent? I had far more important things to do.

She gave me another weird look but she didn't stop me from following her out into the corridor. "Here, take some tape and start hanging them on the notice boards." How had the situation gone from me helping her to her bossing me around. She handed me the fliers and some tape and continued walking down hallway. I did as I was told, wondering the entire time why I was even doing it. After a while I noticed Mr. Kimura walk out of the teachers lounge and walk towards the gym. Where the hell had that idiot been?

I found Serenity and handed her the rest of the fliers and told her I had a meeting to attend. She thanked me and I turned to walk away. I felt her eyes on me the entire way until I disappeared into the gymnasium and caught up with Mr. Kimura. The meeting wasn't for very long and he even apologized for being late. Normally, I would make him pay for wasting my time but my mind kept on wandering back to a certain girl putting fliers up outside. After Mr. Kimura had decided that he would let Mokuba off this time with a warning, I left the idiot in his office and was on my way out when I noticed Serenity walk in through another exit.

"Just one more stupid banner, then I can go home!" She muttered to herself. The tall bleachers blocked her view of me and I saw her climb one of them on the far side of the gymnasium and try hanging up the last banner. She looked cute, jumping up and down, trying to get the hook through the hole. She stopped and looked around and then sighed. "This was easier with Kaiba here." She looked at Mr. Kimura's room and said, "I wonder if he's still in the meeting." After a moment of thinking, she said, "Well why do I care? He was being weird anyways." I found it funny that she was talking about me, behind my back. Was I acting weird before? Is that how she thought of me?

I walked out from the shadows of the bleacher and said, "So you DO talk behind people's backs." I said, smirking at her. She abruptly turned around, startled. Her eyes grew wide as she took me in and I noticed how nervous she was all of a sudden.

"Talking to yourself about other people isn't actually considered talking behind people's backs." Serenity was now looking at me, her brown eyes searching for something.

"No, you're right. That actually points towards insanity." I said, still smirking. What was it about this girl that attracted me to her?

"What?" This was a whole new side of Serenity. She was glaring at me, her small hands tightened into a fist. "Oh whatever? What are you doing here anyways?"

"I was watching you work." I was surprised at myself at how easily I answered her questions.

"That's just weird Kaiba. Only stalkers do that." She said, blushing lightly then turning her back to me.

"So you're calling me a stalker?" I called out as I got closer.

"Well you were standing there listening to me talk to myself and you just admitted to watching me…" She trailed off, just standing there. I stood right below her now, just to the side of the bleacher she was standing on. She turned around to see where I was.

"Down here." I whistled at her, startling her even more. She turned too quickly to look and she lost her balance. For a second there, I thought she was a goner but instead she came crashing down onto me. It was good that I had fast reflexes and I held my arms out to catch her. I ended up on my back with Serenity lying right on top of me. Shit man, that hurt.

"Uughhh…." Serenity said, indicating that she was still alive.

"Are you alright?" I said as I held on to her.

"Mmmm…" She said. I felt her strong grip on me start to loosen up as reality set in and she opened her eyes. My head was hurting from the impact but other than that, I was alright.

"Oh! Oh my god! Are you okay?" Serenity tried to move and get up but my arms were still locked around her and she looked into my eyes. We both stayed like that for some time. It was nice and awkward at the same time, us just holding each other. For some reason, it felt right.

"Umm...Kaiba...can you let me go?" She asked, softly. I realized I was still holding onto her and I slowly let my hold on her go and she rose to her feet. I got up too and brushed myself off.

"Are you okay?" She asked me. Her hair had come undone and she worked on putting it all back into a bun.

"Me? I'm not the one who fell from an eight foot high bleacher!" I said, looking at the spot she had been standing.

"Yeah… I guess." She smiled a little, and looked down at her feet. "Joey says I can be a bit clumsy at times...I'm sorry." I looked down at her, watching her every move. She stood there quietly, waiting for me to say something.

"I don't forgive you." I said and she looked at me with wide eyes.

"But-but why not? I said I was sorry!" She looked at me unbelievingly. I thought back to her blushing face and I noticed some of it was returning. I wondered. Did I make Serenity nervous? I cocked my head and a small smile started to play on my own lips. No, this was not at all the Serenity I was something different about her. I hadn't been this intrigued in a person, let alone a girl, in a long time. There was something about her, a mysterious side that I wanted to know. That was it, Serenity was a mystery that I wanted to figure out. She would become my new play thing. I pulled her towards me, arm wrapped around her tiny waist, just to test my theory. She grew still and innocent eyes widened as I pushed some of her fallen hair back.

"Kaiba…" She started to say but I stopped her. My lips found hers and I planted, a solid kiss on her soft, sweet lips before finally letting her go. She didn't push me away or say anything to stop me. That was interesting. I didn't wait for her to say anything to me. Instead, I left a gawking Serenity awkwardly standing there as I walked out of the gymnasium.

The entire week I was gone, I thought about her. After the incident at the gym I kept a close watch on her. We passed each other a few times in the hallway during classes but each time, she had been with one of her annoying friends. But I knew she looked at me. I knew she was thinking about me. So when the chance came, I took it. Wheeler had gotten on my nerves that day at school and in the heat of the moment, I tricked him into dueling with me with his sister as bait. It all worked out fine though, as my date with Serenity was a success. I hadn't expected to end up at her house though. I remembered the closeness we had shared, how she had warmed up to me after her four glasses of champagne. My conquest for Serenity Wheeler had started off as a mission to get to know the mystery behind Serenity Wheeler but my night had ended on an entirely different note and I had gotten out of there, smiling with a racing heart. What was happening to me?

Never had I waited for time to pass this quickly so I could get back to school and see Serenity's smiling face. She made me nervous and made me do things I normally wouldn't. I felt like an idiot for having ignored her during the Battle City tournament but I was glad that I would have the chance to make it up to her. A girl with her confidence was hard to come by and I wasn't about to let her go that easily. I was a bit nervous though. She had mentioned that this was our only date but that was before I stayed behind and put her to sleep. She had seemed to peaceful and happy to have me there next to her, and I realized I felt just the same. I even laughed at myself when I thought about how easy it was for me to be around her. Serenity Wheeler was doing something to me that no girl had ever been able to do before. Sure I noticed other girls, but only because I was a guy and I had needs, but Serenity, she was different. This wasn't some kind of sexual conquest. I really wanted to get to know her. I made up my mind to ask her out again as soon as I got back to Domino.


	12. Chapter 12

Author's Note: As an apology for not uploading these past few days, here is a longer chapter. To all of my readers, I'd like to make clear the actual timeline. Kaiba and Serenity attended high school together for one year, Kaiba and the others as seniors, Serenity as a sophomore, and Mokuba as a freshman. Their relationship started when Serenity was 16 and Kaiba was 19. In present day, Kaiba is now 26 and Serenity is 23.

Present Day

"Good. I'll have Susan forward you a copy of my schedule and train you too." Kaiba said. He got up from his chair and took the documents I had just signed and flipped through them just to make sure I had signed off on everything. I was angry yes, but it was done.

"If there's nothing else, I'd like to get going. I have preparations to make." I got up and adjusted my skirt and brought my bag up to hang on my shoulder.

"What kind of preparations?" Kaiba asked, peering over the papers.

"I have family coming over in a few days." I said meeting his stoic eyes.

"Wheeler's coming then, eh?" I heard the annoyance in his voice and I recalled the animosity the two of them shared.

"Yes...I'd like to make a request. He's going to be here for a week, so will it be alright if I start on the job after he leaves?" I asked.

"Absolutely….not." He moved the papers from in front of his face and smiled at me. It was an empty smile though I could tell he was just trying to get on my nerves.

"Kaiba-"

"No, while we are in the office or any other work environment, you are to refer to me with respect and address me as Mr. Kaiba." Kaiba was having a lot of fun with this and I glowered at him.

"Mr. Kaiba." I said. I could deal with taking time off later, for now I had to get home. "I'll take your leave. Have a splendid day." I said in a high pitched, mocking voice. Kaiba didn't stop me as I walked out of his office. Susan was on her way back and stopped when she saw my face. She rose her eyebrow and I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"I thought I'd be out of your hair as soon as I could, but it seems like I'm stuck for six months. What do you think? Will I survive?" I asked, gloomily.

To my surprise, she smiled and placed a firm hand on shoulder. Then she said the worst thing possible. "Of course not. Your Seto Kaiba's secretary. They don't last very long."

I lost whatever trace of a smile I had on my face and watched as she disappeared into Kaiba's cabin. "Thanks for the encouragement." I said sourly as I made my out of the office building and into the busy streets. I started walking down the street and towards the subway station. The morning was lovely and I realized I wasn't very far from Central Park. Maybe a nice walk would be nice. Twenty minutes later, I found myself strolling through the park. There were still people running around, some walking their dogs. I even noticed students who were playing hooky and I smiled, remembering how many times Kaiba and I had done that. Wait. Why was I even I thinking about that?

Serenity, you have to be more careful. You work for him now, keep professional and personal separate. Whatever's in the past, leave it in the past.

"Fancy seeing you here." I froze at the sound of his voice and an unbelievable rage coursed through my body.

"Jesse." I turned around to find my ex boss standing there, wearing one of his sharp suits, his hair gelled back.

"At least you remember my name. Dear Serenity, how are you doing? You ran out on me during our last meeting." He smirked at me and I noticed how different it was than Kaiba's.

"Shutup." I said and started to walk around him.

"Oh please make me. I'd love to feel your soft lips on me. In fact, I'd love to feel them all over my body." He laughed as he said it and I stared at him, disgusted and horrified at the same time. I always knew he was a perverted man, but I never expected such vulgarity.

"Have a little shame Jesse. You disgust me." I said and managed to push past him. I started walking away, swiftly. I hated to even have him near me.

"Oh Serenity, I just wanted to say I'm sorry you'll be evicted soon. But hey, look on the bright side? If you ever need a place to stay, you can always come to mine. Trust me, I'll keep you nice and warm. In my bed." I stopped.

"I've had enough of your shamelessness. You did your best to destroy me, Vallazio, but mark my works, I'm not out of the game yet." I looked him in the eye as I said every word. A new kind of determination flooded my senses and I spoke confidently.

The smile Jesse gave me was frightening and I knew he meant business. "I'm not done toying with you yet, Serenity. Trust me, when I'm done with you, you'll be begging me to never stop."

This time, Jesse turned around and walked away. He called over his shoulder, telling me to have a good day. There was a bench right behind me and I collapsed on to it. Jesse was gone yet the confrontation I had with him was fresh and stinging every part of my body. I wanted to cry but I knew it wouldn't help. After sitting there watching the geese in the pond swim around, I got up and made my way home.

Joey called and so did Shanaya, but I ignored all of them. Later that night I got a text from an unknown number. It was Susan, telling me to be ready and at the KC building by 8. Normal business hours started at 9:30 but I had training to get started on and the earlier, the better. Why was this happening to me? Why had Jesse turned out to be a perverted son of a bitch? Why was Kaiba so intent on controlling my life? I screamed into my pillow, letting out all of my frustration before finally going to sleep.

The next few days were hectic. Susan was right, being Seto Kaiba's secretary was NOT a piece of cake. There was so much to do. So many people to talk to, so much paperwork to organize, so many things to remember. Kaiba observed me quietly, letting Susan scold me if I did anything wrong. The woman wasn't much older than me but she sure knew what she was doing. It was nice in the sense that I met a variety of new people and that the experience in itself was refreshing but Kaiba's constant watch was a distraction. One time while we were alone in his office and I was explaining the next days itinerary to Kaiba and I stopped to ask him a question, he kept on looking at me with this weird intensity. It was a bit unnerving and I had to actually snap my fingers at him to break him out of the trance. What was up with him? The week was almost at an end and finally, it was Friday. Pay day. I picked up my check from the accountant's office as I finished up for the day and was on my way out when Kaiba walked up behind me and without a word, took my hand and started walking towards his car.

"Mr. Kaiba. Wait. What?" I said as he stopped in front of his limo.

"Don't what me. You owe me a treat." He said, smiling. I looked around nervously to see if anyone else had seen us and sure enough, the doorman was looking over at us, surely wondering what was going on between his boss and the new secretary.

"I don't recall ever saying such a thing to you." I said.

"Well you were thinking it." He said, opening the car door.

"Umm...no I was not."

"Sure you were. In your head, you were so grateful for getting this job that you thought you should treat me to an awesome night out with your first paycheck." I stared at Kaiba, wondering if I should laugh at him or smack him. Both would be highly unprofessional.

"I think you hit your head this morning. Or perhaps when you were born." I started to wave at him and walk away but he held my hand and stopped me.

"I hit my head pretty hard that day in gym when you fell on me." His voice was low and deliberate, as if trying to convey something to me that was hidden underneath. Why had Kaiba chosen to remember that? Why had he chosen to remind me? "Come on. Let's have dinner." I could tell he wasn't going to give up and so I reluctantly sat in the car.

"You need to stop kidnapping me like this." I said.

"No I don't." He said then turned to give the driver an address.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"You'll see." He said.

"Okay…" The car ride was long and a while later I noticed that we were leaving the city completely behind.

"Kaiba...I thought you said a night out? Where exactly are you taking me?" I said, unsure as the city got farther away as we drove on.

"It's a surprise. Don't spoil it." He said. There was an excited air around Kaiba and although I wasn't sure about this, somehow seeing him like this, made me want to go along with whatever Kaiba was doing.

"We are here." I looked out the window to see a beautiful neighborhood come into view and we passed through a security gate and passed several, large mansions as we continued down the tranquil streets.

"Do you have dinner plans with a client? Are we going to their house?" House really was an understatement.

The car drove up to a large manor and entered another security gate. It traveled up a long driveway and finally came to rest under the towering structure. Kaiba got out first and I followed him out.

"Come." He said. He took my hand in his and I followed him towards the house. It looked new, yet comfy. It had two floors and a huge garden in the front and I could tell there was more to the house around the back. I wondered who owned it. As far as I knew, Kaiba did not have any dinner plans with any clients.

The large doors opened as soon as we got to it and a proper butler stood there, ushering us in. "Welcome, sir. I hope you've had a splendid day." I was shocked at the way the butler treated Kaiba and I had to give him points for really making one feel at home. I admired the beautiful decor inside. There were expensive looking paintings that hung on the freshly painted walls and the beautifully carved and polished mahogany furniture gleamed where the crystal chandelier lights hit it.

"Kaiba…" I said quietly. "Where are our hosts?" I asked. I was becoming weary of waiting to actually be welcomed by our hosts.

"Oh, how rude of me. Welcome Serenity, to my humble home." He even bowed a little but and I stared at him, unsure if I'd heard right.

"This is your house?" I said, taking another look around me at the parlor.

"Yes, do you like it?" He asked. He still held my hand and urged me to follow him down a corridor that opened up to a large, homely living room.

"I...yes...it's beautiful. I thought you didn't have a home in New York…" I said.

"You're right. I didn't. It's a new place. The New York branch needs some work so I'll be staying here for the next few months. I decided to get my own place. It's more convenient that way."

"Wow...okay…" I continued to admire his mansion. It was different from the one he had back in Domino though, that one had a more...sinister feel to it. This one was more warm.

"Come on, I told them to get dinner ready for us." I followed Kaiba into a large dining room and sure enough, a wonderful spread and aroma greeted us as we entered.

"You really shouldn't have done this." I said as I took a seat. I placed my purse and blazer on a neighboring chair and looked at my empty plate and the cutlery lying next to it, neatly wrapped in a napkin.

"Well...I have nobody else here that I know...You're the closest thing I have to a friend here so I assumed it would be alright to have you over for dinner." There was a hint of something in his voice and I could tell what it was he was trying to hide.

"I'm your employee, Kaiba. Nothing more. Nothing less." I said. I could tell it hurt Kaiba from the look he gave me but he said nothing. Instead, he had his maid serve us and we ate. The food was good. A roasted quail with some kind of gravy on the side. Dessert was tasty too. Kaiba remembered how much I had loved chocolate fudge sundaes and so we divulged in that for a bit. All throughout dinner, we had light conversation, talking about simple things like weather and work, careful not to venture into the wilder, more personal topics.

"Master Kaiba." His maid had come back into the dining room and we both looked up from our finished deserts and she said, "Ms. Victoria has called. She said she's been trying to reach you on your cell phone for the past hour but you didn't pick up." The maid, I picked up her name as Vanessa, sounded nervous.

"Why did she call?" Kaiba asked, unamused.

"Something about a dinner party…." I watched as Kaiba's face fell and he realized something.

"Aww damn it...tell her I'm busy at the moment with a last minute meeting. Tell her I'll call her later." The girl nodded and then left.

"What was that about?" I asked, suspicious of the way Kaiba had acted.

Kaiba sighed and said,"Victoria is the daughter of a politician here I've been doing business with. I've gone to dinner with her twice last month. In fact that night I met you at the club, I had just finished my second dinner date with her… I've been putting her off for a while now and last week when she called, I promised her I'd go to dinner with her sometime this week...I forgot it was tonight." He looked down at his lap and shook his head.

Typical Kaiba. Forgetting that a girl was waiting for him as he continued doing his own things. I don't know what irritated me more. The fact that he'd forgotten about this Victoria chic or that he was technically "seeing" her.

"What?" He said and I realized that I was staring at him.

"Nothing." I looked away from him and down at my fudge covered plate. "It's late, I should get going. Thank you for the meal." I said and stood up. A few minutes ago I was beginning to enjoy myself once the awkwardness had faded, but now, it felt like a steel barrier was brought up between me and Kaiba. What the hell was I doing here? No PA stayed over at her boss's house for a late night dinner. That only led to bad endings.

"Serenity-"

"Please. Will you have your chauffeur drop me to the nearest train station? I do not know the way around here…" I said trailing off. A dead silence hung in the air. I knew Kaiba was staring daggers at my back.

"Fine." Kaiba called his butler and told him to escort me out.

"Follow me, ma'am." His butler said. I put on my blazer and felt Kaiba's eyes following my every movement.

"Goodnight then." I said, finally looking at him. Kaiba gave me one last look and then turned to leave. It hurt a little that he was acting like this, but I guess it was for the best. The more distant we were from each other, the better. After all, I just received proof that Kaiba had moved on. Not that I had waited for him. But still, none the less, the evidence hurt. I started following the butler towards the front door.

"Oliver will take you straight home ma'am. Please have a safe journey and a pleasant night." The butler bowed slightly as Oliver came around and opened the car door.

"Umm..excuse me… Mr..." I trailed off, realizing I didn't know the butler's name.

"Sebastian, ma'am." He said.

"Oh right, Mr. Sebastian, would you mind telling Mr. Kaiba that his meeting tomorrow morning has been rescheduled for a luncheon instead?" I forgot to mention the change earlier and because I did not feel like speaking to him, maybe I could get Mr. Sebastian to deliver the message.

"Of course ma'am, anything else you wish for me to convey to Master Kaiba?"

"No, thank you, take care." I waved at the man as I awkwardly got into the car. The car started and soon, I was leaving Kaiba and his mansion behind and somewhere inside me, something ached.

"Why does he do that?" I whispered to myself as the night passed by outside. I looked up at the sky and noticed how the storm clouds rolled in. Another stormy night and once again, I was all alone. I thought back to that night Kaiba had stayed with me through the storm. Every storm after that was comforting, because he was by my side. When had we decided that? That every time there was thunder storm, Kaiba would sneak in and keep me company?

7 Years Ago

Serenity's POV

It had been a week since Kaiba and I went on our date. Joey and the others had grilled me for every possible second the past week, and finally they let up when I gave them nothing juicy. No way was I going to tell my brother and the others that Kaiba had almost ended up spending the night with me. Even though nothing happened, it would come across as the wrong thing.

"Serenity, are you going to go to Alexis's party this weekend?" Tea asked as we changed in the locker room. She may have been two years my senior but all the year students got to pick which gym class they wanted, and so, Tea and I had ended up together.

"I don't know yet...I don't like her much. I heard that the last time she threw a party, she got drunk and ended up spending the night with Mizaki Takanawa."

"True that, but still, it's my senior year, I feel like I should party like crazy. Besides, as long as my grades are fine, it shouldn't be an issue." She said.

"Yeah but I'm just a sophomore…" I said. Yeah and already more than half the school hated me because they knew Kaiba had taken me on a date.

"Yeah, but I don't think Joey will mind, besides he'll probably be too busy lip locked with Mai to care." Tea was already dressed as I pulled my shirt on.

"Yeah, I guess...well let's see." Tea and I walked out of the locker room together and as soon as I got out, I noticed a crowd.

"What's going on?" Tea said, trying to look over the crowd. A bunch of girls seemed to be hovering over someone and screeching.

"What the-"

"Serenity!" I heard someone call out my name. I froze in place as the entire crowd shut up and turned to look at me. Now I could see the dark brown hair peeking out from the crowd. Hard to believe a herd of wild girls was keeping Seto Kaiba from walking over but at that exact moment, it was all I needed to turn on my heels and walk away.

"Oh shit! Tea, come on." I half dragged her from the hall as I left the angry, glaring crowd and Kaiba behind.

"Hey, wasn't that Kaiba?" Tea asked after I finally let her go. I had dragged her far enough from the mess and I finally took a breath.

"What the hell was he thinking? Already those girls are out to get me, if he approaches me like that, it'll make things worse."

"It looked like he was waiting for you." Tea said.

"I know, what I don't get is why!" I frowned at Tea who seemed amused. "Why are you smiling like that?"

"Look who's coming." I turned around to see Kaiba's tall figure stalking down the hallway towards us.

"Oh crap, Tea, come on." I said started to drag her again but this time she stopped me.

"Maybe you should hear him out." Tea said, looking past me at his fast approaching figure.

"No… I shouldn't. What I should be doing is avoiding him." I pulled at her arm again but already it was too late.

"Hey!" Kaiba was standing there, fuming. "You saw I was calling to you then why would you decide to ignore me?"

"I did not ignore you." I blatantly lied.

"Yes you did. I have to talk to you." He looked at me and then at Tea. "Hello Gardner." He finally said and acknowledged Tea.

"Hello Kaiba." She said.

"May I speak to Serenity in private please?" He said please but it sounded more like a command. Before Tea could say anything, I spoke up.

"No…. I can't right now. I have class." Both Tea and Kaiba stared at me and I realized why.

"Honestly Serenity, if you're going to lie to me, you might as well make an effort. We share the same lunch period." I stared back at him unsure of what to say. He mistook me for not understanding him and said, "It's lunch period right now."

"I know that! What do you want anyways?" I said throwing nervous glances at Kaiba.

"I told you, I need to speak to you in private."

"You can say whatever you have to in front of Tea." I could tell from his devilish gaze and creepy smile that that was a mistake.

"Okay. Do you want to talk about how our date went, how it was raining and I-" I lept up and put my hand on his mouth.

"You mean how the rain ruined the date? Yeah, the weather was crappy." I hurried up and covered for him. I could tell he was smirking underneath and I just wanted Kaiba to disappear.

"Are you sure thats what he was going to say?" Tea looked at me suspiciously.

"Of course it was! Kaiba, tell her!" I urged Kaiba with my eyes as I moved my hand and let him speak.

"Yes, I came to say that the rain had ruined our date, so I was thinking we should go on another one." He was still smirking but I could tell he meant it. I stared at Kaiba and wondered if I'd heard right. Kaiba wanted to ask me out on another date. The first date had gone well surprisingly. I learned that Kaiba had a soft, humorous side to him. He was a bit obnoxious and demanding but that was to be expected. But Kaiba was here now, a week later, and he was asking to go on another date.

"Absolutely not. It is not my fault the weather was bad." I said, snapping at him. What was he even thinking asking me that.

"But-" He started and I cut him off.

"Kaiba, the deal was one date. You got it. Now leave me alone." I turned around and this time when I grabbed Tea's arm, she followed. Kaiba didn't follow us to the lunch room but the whole way back, I kept on thinking about what Kaiba asked. Why would he want to go on another date? That was completely uncalled for.

"Serenity, are you sure your date went well with Kaiba? He didn't do anything to anger you did he?" Tea asked quietly, afraid the other guys and my brother would hear.

"No...it went fine...he just caught me off guard asking for a second date that's all." I said just as quietly. I had lost my appetite and the various glares I got from all the girls made me feel even more sick.

"Hey Ren, I heard moneybags is back." Joey said. "Hey, you feeling okay?" Joey got up from his seat and came to sit next to me. I laid my aching head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. "Ren, talk to me. If you are not feeling well, I'm taking you to the nurse's office."

"Joey, I'm fine. My head just hurts, that's all." My brother patted my head as I closed it and thought about Kaiba. I hoped Joey wouldn't find out, or else there would really be a fight. I drowned all the other sounds of the cafeteria and focused on my breathing.

"Serenity, let's go outside. You'll feel better if there is no noise." Tea suggested. I opened my eyes and agreed. I followed the brunette out the doors and into the nice autumn weather outside. It was just cool enough to give you goosebumps but the sunlight made the cold okay.

"Let's go sit under the old cherry blossom tree." She pointed at it and I followed her. Surprisingly, nobody else was outside. "Hey, you lay down. I'll be right back." I sat down and put my bag on the ground and leaned back on it, making it a makeshift pillow. Tea walked back into the school building and I was all by myself. Rays of sunlight filtered through the gaps in the turning leaves and I watched as they lighted up. I hadn't even realized when my eyes grew heavy and I fell asleep.

I woke up to the sensation of floating...no it was more like being carried. "Mmmm." I said, still not opening my eyes. Whatever was moving me stopped though. My eyes opened to find a sharp blue pair of eyes staring back.

"You fell asleep outside. You missed two periods you know. It's a good thing they didn't notice you cutting." Kaiba's voice was smooth and low. I watched as the hallways passed by us and I realized Kaiba was carrying me in his arms while IN school. I immediately lurched up and that almost resulted in Kaiba dropping me. His strong hands immediately clamped onto my body to keep it from going down to the floor while I used my hands to hold on to him and steady myself.

"Put me down Kaiba! Someone will see!" I hissed as I looked around and prayed nobody had seen or was in the hall to see.

"I will, but first say you will go on a second date with me." I glared at him and tried to kick and get free but it didn't work.

"Kaiba! Please!" I whispered fiercely. I heard footsteps approaching from around the corner and I froze.

The maniac was still waiting. What do I do? "Kaiba, someone is going to see us. Please, this looks bad, just put me down." I said again.

"Sure. Just say the magic words and I will." He leered at me and I swear just at the moment, I wanted to kill him. This was going to be so embarrassing, not to mention the torture I would have to go through if whoever saw us was a member of the I LOVE SETO KAIBA FANCLUB. If anything, the group really should now be called the I HATE SERENITY WHEELER GROUP. The footsteps were seconds away.

"Fine. I'll go." And just like that, Kaiba put me down and started walking in the opposite direction. He disappeared around a corner as swiftly as the pair of feet that turned the corner in front of me. It was a good thing Kaiba had put me down when he did because Joey was standing right there, bewildered to find me in the hallway.


	13. Chapter 13

"Serenity, what are you doing in the hallway? Don't you have class?"

"You're one to talk. Why are you out of class?" My brother was more than likely to be cutting class and from the sheepish smile he gave me, I knew he was.

"I'm not cutting class, I'm taking a recreational break."

"Joey, I swear to god, at this rate you're going to get left back." I shook my head at my brother who scowled at me.

"No I won't. Besides, I got my future planned out just fine." Joey started to daydream and I snapped him out of it.

"I need to get to class. You go too, Joey! I'll see you after school." I passed Joey and ran to my next class. My teacher gave me a stern looking for coming in late but she didn't say anything else.

After school I met up with the rest of the gang and together, we hit the arcade. Tea challenged me to a dancing contest and of course, I lost. Out of breath, I took a seat next to Duke who was looking at some of the girls still on the stage, having fun.

"Do you do anything other than stare at girls, Duke?" Duke's face lit up into a smile and he looked at me.

"Sure I do, I look at you don't I?"

"I'm a girl too, you know." I giggled at the funny look he gave me and I watched the girls with him.

"Serenity, how about we go to a movie or something? It's been ages since we hung out." Duke was looking at me and I gave him a nervous smile. After Battle City, Duke had asked me out on a date and at the time, it seemed okay but right into the date we figured out we were better as friends. Was he asking me out on another date, or was this just an attempt at spending some time with a good friend?

"I'd love to, but not now. Maybe next week or something?" That would give me time to figure the rest of the mess in my head out.

Duke understood and smiled. Then he grabbed my hand and took me to the dance floor. I laughed as I twirled in his arms and had a fun time. Tea made Yugi join in too and it was hilarious to see the two trying to dance.

"Hey, where is Joey?" I asked Tea as she moved.

"I think he said something about meeting Mai outside." She said back.

I excused myself from Duke and went outside to find my brother. And of course, I found the two of them making out right on Mai's motorcycle. I blushed a little bit and quickly made my way back inside.

The next day, I found Kaiba waiting for me in front of my classroom.

"What are you doing here?" I hissed at him while the other girls watched.

"When are we going on our date?"

"Sshhh! Are you trying to get me killed?" I grabbed his hand and hauled him to a quiet corner.

"Kaiba, what do you want?"

"I just asked you a question. I don't like repeating myself. Nor do I like being hauled through the school like a dog." He seemed more irritated than angry though.

"Why do you want to go on another date with me? The first one was bad enough." I knew that wasn't true, but I would have to lie if I wanted Kaiba to get off my back.

Kaiba took a step closer and without warning, brought his arms up and locked me in place. I took a step back, eyes wide, trying to get a better view of him as well as put some space between us. He leaned in, closer.

"You know, I have knack for catching people who lie and punishing them." Having Kaiba this close to me was very unnerving...an image of us in the gym together flashed in my mind.

"I..." What would I say to him?

"Be ready tomorrow evening. I'll come pick you up." Kaiba didn't wait for an answer and with one last look, he pushed himself off the wall and walked away. I finally took a deep breath and rolled my eyes.

"What the hell, Kaiba… you can't just boss people around like that…" I muttered to myself as I made my way to my next class.

"So Serenity, are you and Kaiba an item now?" My school committee buddy asked as I took a seat next to her in math class.

"No, of course not!" I looked over at Emi who was giving me the "I'm not so convinced look".

"Okay, if you say so…" She was the only one who had suspected Kaiba liked me even before all this dating drama. She was there in the gym that day...in fact it was all her fault. If she didn't need to rush and see her boyfriend, Kaiba wouldn't have insisted on helping me. I shook my head. That was foolish of me to blame her…

Nobody knew the truth. I myself had only ever admitted it just once.

The day went by agonizingly slowly and I didn't see or hear from Kaiba for the rest of the day. It was late at night when I finished my homework and was putting my books away when I noticed the little notebook. I hesitated, wondering if I should open it. To think this small notebook, a black journal really, held my biggest secret. I could have ripped it up and thrown it away, but this was proof of my courage… that I could admit it, at least to myself.

I shook my head and put the notebook back in the little drawer and shut it.

The next day rolled in and went by. The gang wanted me to hang out but I had a date with Kaiba. The entire way home I thought about it and wondered why Kaiba had asked to go on a second date. Our first date wasn't a complete disaster and I had to admit, being with Kaiba, in his company...well it wasn't that bad. He was funny at times, demanding too, but that was to be expected.

At 5, I started to get ready. My mom and Joey were outside so there was no explaining to do. At 6, I was ready, donned in a pair of blue pants and a white blouse with a sweater pulled over it. Comfortable, yet cute.

I sat on my couch, waiting for the knock on my door or the honk of a car outside. I grew bored and decided to turn on the TV. It was odd for Kaiba to be late...maybe he was held up by traffic?

An hour passed by and still no Kaiba. My worry had gone and now I was just irritated. Stupid Kaiba, where the hell was he? Before I knew it, I was passed out on my couch and the world grew dark outside. When I awoke, it was to Joey's loud banging.

I rubbed my eyes as the lights came on. Joey just finished closing the door and he seemed startled to see me sitting there like that.

"Joey...what time is it?"

"Ren, what are you doing there sitting like that? You gave me a heart attack!" He rubbed at his chest and I noticed that his shoes and hair were wet. There were spots of water all over him, darkened where the drops had hit his shirt.

"I...hey is it raining outside?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's about to start pouring. Mai just dropped me off...what about you? Where did you go?" He asked, splaying his body out on the armchair, seemingly exhausted.

"Nowhere." Kaiba hadn't come. That really irritated. How dare he stand me up like that? I got up and stretched. Seeing Joey's relaxed face, his eyes closed irritated me more. How come he got to have an awesome girlfriend like Mai and I got an asshole who stood me up on our second date? A date HE basically bullied me into?! I knew it was irrational but I picked up one of the pillows and hit Joey square in the face.

"HEY!" He grabbed the pillow, eyes open and angry. "What the hell was that for?"

"Your face. It irritated me." I said, stalking away towards my room.

"Serenity!" He yelled after me but I banged my door shut, being in too much of a foul mood to deal with anyone!

I changed quickly into a pair of comfortable shorts and a T-shirt and started on my homework. It was hard to concentrate though. Why didn't Kaiba come? Had he forgotten? Why was I thinking about it so much? I pulled at my hair in frustration at the stupid math problem in front of me.

"Hey Serenity, you awake?" Joey knocked on my door and when I calmed my nerve, I told him to enter. "I'm going to Yugi's place. He just got this new video game and we've been meaning to play it for a while. Mom's going to be out tonight too, late shift at the hospital, you going to be alright by yourself?" He asked and I looked out the window. It had started to rain, but there was no sign of thunder or lightning.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Tell Yugi I said hi...oh and Joey?" I looked at my brother who had walked in. "I'm sorry about earlier." He didn't say a word and just came closer and put his arm around my head and hugged me to his chest. I closed my eyes and took in the closeness, the warmth from my brother.

"Serenity, I'm always here for you. If you want, I can stay and spend the night gaming with you?" My brother pulled back and I tipped my head back to look at him.

"No, it's okay. I have tons of homework anyways, it'll be a good way for me to catch up." I would be fine, besides, I knew how much Joey wanted to play that new game.

"Alright, but if you need anything, just call." I nodded and watched as Joey walked out of my room and moments later, heard the front door shut.

After much scribbling on scrap paper, I decided I wouldn't get any homework done. An irrational anger overwhelmed me and I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I opened the little drawer and pulled out the journal and started to write in it furiously. I poured my heart out, my feelings, my frustrations. And it helped. Half an hour later, I observed what I had been writing. When I was done, I shut the journal and left it on my desk. I was getting hungry.

There was leftover pizza in the refrigerator and I heated up a slice and grabbed myself a soda and was walking back to my room when there was a knock on the door.

"Joey's back already?" I went to go open the door, about to scold Joey for not taking his keys but to my surprise, a slightly wet Seto Kaiba stood there. I stared at him for five seconds and was about to shut the door on his face but he brought his hand up and pushed his way inside.

"Get out, Kaiba!" I said. All of the anger I had just poured out into the little journal was now back inside of me.

"Serenity, please, listen." He started to say, but I would have none of it.

"No. You are not welcome here. Please, leave!" I said, pointing the way out.

"Serenity!" He shut the door and I tried to block him but it was no good. "Listen to me!" I flat out ignored the boy and started walking towards my room. If I couldn't get him to get out of my house, at least I could lock myself in my room.

But of course, he beat me to it too. I set the opened bottle and my pizza on my table and turned to glare at him.

He seemed at a lost for words when I finally gave him my undivided attention. Kaiba took a step towards me and I took a step back. Bad idea. I hit the table behind me and my arm knocked over the soda, spilling it across my books and my pizza.

"Damn it!" I tried to scoop it back with my fingers as Kaiba helped by getting my books out of the way. "Umm, hold on, I'm gonna go get some napkins." I rushed out of the room and towards the kitchen. I grabbed the whole role and ran back, the whole while cursing at myself for being so clumsy all the time.

I found Kaiba, still containing the mess and immediately I ripped a few paper towels and cleaned everything up.

Mess cleared out, I was finally able to give Kaiba my undivided attention again.

"So? You're not going to leave?" I asked, arms crossed.

"I just wanted to apologize for not coming earlier. I was held up in a meeting and I didn't have your number. I know it's a sorry excuse, but it's true." I could tell Kaiba was being sincere but there was something in his eyes.

"It doesn't matter. If there isn't anything else, I'd like to get some sleep... so..." I said, trailing off. I knew I was being rude but I wouldn't forgive Kaiba just like that.

"I see. Well then, good night. I'll see you tomorrow." Kaiba already started walking towards the door and I followed him out, an awkward silence hanging between us. When I opened the door, a bright flash of lightning cracked across the sky and immediately, I covered my ears and shut my eyes. Oh, God, why now?

Kaiba laid a hand on my shoulder and pulled me back into the house as he shut the door.

"I'm afraid of thunder and lightning so I guess I won't be able to leave after all." He said. I turned towards him, not understanding if he was mocking me or trying to comfort me.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I said as I shrugged his hand off my shoulder. He simply shrugged and made his way towards my couch. "Hey!" I said as he sat down and turned on the T.V.

"I wonder if there is a nice horror movie on. Mokuba likes to make me watch horror movies with him whenever it rains." He sat back and already made himself comfortable as he surfed through the channels. Another flash of lightning struck outside and I looked outside nervously.

"Try channel 16." I said. I might as well make the most of it while Kaiba was here. I took a seat on the armchair and curled my feet up as I watched what Kaiba did. The man was a peculiar one, all right. I didn't trust him but then I also didn't not trust him.

"So you stand me up for a date you basically bully out of me for, and now you are forcibly staying in my house while it rains out because you're scared of thunder and lightning?" I said, grabbing his attention.

"I apologized for earlier and yes." He said.

"I don't buy either one." I said, looking away from him.

"Why?" He seemed bothered that I hadn't accepted his apology.

"Well because," I started "sometimes apologies aren't enough." There was a pause before I said, "and also, you live and breath the blue eyes white dragon, you're not afraid of thunder and lightning." The last part came across more sarcastically.

Kaiba eyed me for a long time, as if letting what I said sink it. The silence was starting to get unnerving, but then the dragon lover started laughing. It was a heartfelt, almost jolly sound, unlike the maniacal laughter that usually came out of him when he mocked others.

"You know something Serenity," he said, "you're very funny." He stopped laughing but the smile still lingered on his lips. I blinked at him, not quite sure what to make of that statement. I scowled at him, wondering why I wasn't kicking the boy out already. I had braved thunderstorms by myself before, this one wasn't any different. One night together hadn't changed that. But then... Why was he still here?

"Do you have anything to eat? I rushed over so I didn't have any dinner." I glared at the boy but I got up anyways and went to go find something for the both of us. There was leftover pasta, enough for both of us and so I heated it up and brought it out for the both of us to enjoy. Kaiba had found another good movie and we watched in silence as we ate.

The storm had started to quiet down outside and I noticed Kaiba looking out the window and at his watch. When he did it a fourth time, I cleared my throat to get his attention. "You know, the weather is clearing up outside. You're not afraid of a little rain are you?" I asked, meeting his eyes.

A smirk spread across his face, understanding what I was trying to say. "No, no I'm not. It's getting late, I should get going. Mokuba starts to worry if I'm not home in time. No doubt he already is since I rushed out of the meeting." He stood up and stretched and I noticed how tired he really was. I didn't blame him though, he had too much on his plate as a teenager.

I nodded and walked him towards the door when he put his jacket and shoes on, which he had opened some point earlier. For some reason, my heart fell a little when he was all ready and I realized our night, this time a short one, was already at an end.

"Serenity?" He said my name questioningly.

"Hmm?" I asked, unsure of what he wanted to say. His blue eyes were looking keenly into mine, and suddenly I was back at the gym. His lips were inches from mine. Would he steal another kiss just like last time?

"I really am sorry about before. Please take care of yourself and have a good night, okay?" He said. He didn't lean in any closer and I nodded slowly, realizing that I had just forgiven him for standing me up. He flashed me a brilliant smile before turning around and walking towards the idle limousine parked out front. I watched as he got in and within moments, he was gone.

"Stupid Kaiba..." I murmured to myself as I shut and dead bolted the door. But I knew I was happy in a sense, why I didn't know, but I was. Little did I know my happiness was going to be short lived. Chaos was waiting for me at school the next day.


	14. Chapter 14

Present Day

Kaiba's POV

She just upped and left like that. I understood why, but that didn't mean it hurt any less. Even after four years, nothing had changed. She still hated me just as much, granted it was more evident at moments like this. Ever since that night in the club alley, a new hope had arisen in me, a hope to mend things between me and Serenity. I never expected us to go back to what we were before but still, she could at least be my friend, but even that she denied to acknowledge.

"Mr. Kaiba?" A knock echoed on my study door as I looked at the single illuminated painting on the wall. The rest of the room was clad in darkness to match my mood. My butler called out to me and I allowed him to enter. "Miss Serenity has requested that I tell you about a morning meeting with a certain client having turned into a luncheon."  
"Did she say anything else?" I was hoping something along the lines like tell Kaiba to have a good night and that she's sorry for acting like that.

"No, Mr. Kaiba. She did not." He could read the annoyance at a certain auburn haired girl on my face. "Is there anything else you require of me before I retire for the night?" He asked. I looked at the older man.

"No, thank you Oliver."

"Very well then, have a splendid night Mr. Kaiba." Oliver closed the door behind me and I stared at the empty place he was standing in. What the hell was I doing here? I didn't actually have to be here. All the while, I had persuaded myself the New York branch needed some help but truth be told, it was booming and all the credit went to Susan. Then why...why was I here? I turned to look back at the painting and a sad smile played across my face, remembering the memory behind me. For four years these memories had remained untouched, working hard and exhausting myself with Kaiba Corp work and even other women to forget them, but that fateful day in the alley had changed everything again. I could tell Serenity felt the same, but she was better at controlling her emotions than I was. That had always been the case.

"Ughh WHY!" I screamed the word out in frustration. All the anger and disappointment and resentment came spilling out and once again I was pulled back to seven years ago. How had it all started? Of course the dice were cast when I kissed her in the gym but that wasn't it. Not even when we went on our first date. No, it was the day after our "second date".

7 Years Ago:

I was surprised Serenity hadn't noticed that her little black journal was missing. I was glad though, this way I had time to myself to read what was inside it. When Serenity had spilled the soda in her bottle and I helped clear the stuff from her desk as she ran to go get paper towels, the journal had landed on the floor and opened up to a very...shocking page. There on the page, inside a big, girly heart was written my name. I remember staring at it for a long time before quickly closing it and concealing it in my jacket as Serenity ran back. She hadn't noticed the absence of her precious secret as she cleaned up the mess and then demanded once again for me to leave. Of course, I apologized and obliged to her request, only wanting to get out of there because I wanted to read the content in the book, but of course, I ended up staying when I saw how scared she was of the ongoing storm.

I was now in my car and I had the notebook in my hand. Now I was never one for stealing, but this secret, the words in this diary were calling to me. I just had to know...I turned the notebook open and skimmed through the first couple of entries. Most of it was about the time before her operaration, her friends, moving back to Domino, Joey...and then duel monsters. The first mention of my name made me go back and read the passage. I had to laugh out loud at her depicition of me. "Tall and skinny, piercing blue, yet cold eyes. He seems like a nice guy, since he did come back to help us and save Tea. But Joey tells me to be aware of him, that he was basically the devil incarnate." Even the part of about Joey saying that didn't irk me. I was having too much fun.

Then we were on the blimp and I skimmed through her thoughts on the Battle City tournament until finally, I found my name again. That was the first time I had ever actually spoken to her. "I was wrong to even think Kaiba could be a nice person. He was so mean! We all literally begged him, but he didn't land the blimp. Asshole." I laughed harder at that because right next it was a frowny face with horns and written across it was my name. She sure seemed tough, but inside, she was still a child.

I continued to read. The first day of school. "Today was my first day of school at Domino. I never imagined I'd go to school with my brother and Yugi and the others. Everyone made me feel so at home that I didn't miss my old friends as much. But of course, he was there too. Kaiba had class with my brother and I wondered how my brother and him managed to stay at the same high school for the past three years without ripping each other's throats out. Surely they got into tons of fight. But no worries, sweet Yugi was there to break the fights." I stopped and stared at the words. "SWEET YUGI?" She was kidding, right? I frowned a bit and continued to read about her small crush on my biggest rival. Jealousy surged through my veins and I wanted to cast the book aside but I read on. I'm glad I did because the next entry was completely different. "Today I learned how much Tea liked Yugi and I realized that her like and my like was different. Indeed, I liked Yugi as a friend and nothing more. Tomorrow, I have a date with Duke, but only because he keeps insisting. I wonder how that will go." Duke too? But the jealousy and rage was gone now and I knew what she was doing. Confused girl in her teens. I smiled and continued to read. I knew for a fact she and Duke had nothing going on between them. And sure enough, there date had been fun but they both discovered they were better off as friends. Several more entries passed and there was no mention of my name, but then slowly, sentence by sentence, it appeared.

"Today, my new friends and I were in the locker room, talking about the hottest guys in the school. One of the girl's surprised me by saying Joey's name and asked me what I thought and I scrunched my nose as one of other girls reminded her that Joey was my brother. Some of them mentioned Yugi and I told them hands off of both Joey and Yugi, they belonged to Mai and Tea now. I told them Duke, Bakura, and Tristan were more than available though and we started giggling until one of them mentioned Kaiba. They all agreed that he was quite handsome, and when they asked me, I had to think about it. But I had to admit, yes, Kaiba was handsome. I remembered the first thought I had when I saw him, WOW! Hehe!" I smiled, imitating her childish laughter in my mind. "We all agreed though that Kaiba was strictly off limits as his first love was his brother and second love was his company. Still, girls could dream and those silly girls did."

I flipped through a few more pages and found another entry. "Something is wrong with me. I've noticed that the more time I spend with the other girls talking about boys, one particular one comes to mind. I don't understand what is happening but it's confusing. Guess who the boy is? SETO KAIBA?! Can you believe it? Me thinking about Seto Kaiba? I just hope these weird feelings would disappear soon..."

This just kept on getting more interesting and I continued. "Today I saw him at lunch. It was surprising to see him there since he barely ever came. The crew and I were sitting and suddenly Joey started his ranting as soon as he saw him and I watched him grab a soda from the machine and walk back towards the exit. For some reason, seeing his tall figure and that adorable trench coat billowing behind him as he walked away made me feel weird."

I turned the page and then the next day, "I was on my to the lady's room when I noticed a figure sitting under the cherry blossom tree. I wondered who it was that was cutting class like that and I realized that it was Kaiba! I stood there and found myself staring at his perched figure. He seemed to just be sitting there, eyes closed, leaning towards the tree. Bit's of sunlight bathed his frame but most of it was shaded by the tree. I don't know how long I stood there but approaching footsteps made me hurry and move. I returned to class, but the whole time, I couldn't concentrate. Seto Kaiba was on my mind the whole day."

"Today I joined the school committee. Starting next week will be sports week and me and Ema are going to help out." I realized that this was around the time the incident at the gym happened and I was eager to read more but the car had come to a stop and I looked out the window to see we had already arrived home. It would have to wait. I carefully packed the book away in my briefcase and entered the house hastily as my butler held it open.

"Seto! Where have you been?" Mokuba demanded from the second floor, leaning on the banister.

"Mokuba! How many times have I told you not to do that?!" I scolded him and my brother teetered a little more just to annoy me before finally settling his feet firmly on the ground and meeting me halfway up the stairs.

"So...where have you been?" He asked again.

"With Serenity." I said as I made my way towards my room.

"Woah, really?" He seemed surprised at that and I stopped to frown at my brother.

"Yeah, why?"

"Don't you think your taking Joey's sister a little TOO seriously?" I could hear the skepticism in voice but I chose to ignore.

"Mokuba, remember, I'm your older brother, you don't get to give me dating advice, that's my job." I was almost to my room. A quick change of clothes and the solitude of my room and I could read Serenity's deepest thoughts.

"Dating? You guys are officially dating?" He seemed amused at this and the concept itself made me feel the same. I stopped and looked at my younger brother and ruffled his raven head.

"Not yet, but soon." I smirked at him, determined to make that come true. There was something about this girl that made me want to make her mine and only mine, and what Seto Kaiba wanted, Seto Kaiba got.

"Let's see." My brother left me and I retired to my room. I showered quickly and slipped into my trousers before pulling the notebook out of my briefcase and settling into my plush bed for the night.

"Now then...where was I?" I flipped to the page I was on and continued to read. "Today I saw Kaiba reject yet another girl. Did that guy have no heart at all? I understood though, to a certain extent. Busy as he was, he probably didn't have time to date. I knew he had a big company to run and he also had to take care of his troublesome brother." I thought about that for a second, saddened that people were now thinking of my brohter as troublesome...even though it was true. "I wonder if he ever smiles, he always seems to be frowning unless he's dueling, but even then, it's not a smile, more like a smirk..." So she had never seen me smile before? I'm sure that had changed since our first date, I had offered plenty of smiles since then.

And finally I turned the page and the day had arrived. "Okay, so I'll try to be as calm as I can about this. So...Kaiba kissed me. I'm not going to write how it happened and I don't completly understand why it happened but all I will say is...WOW! He took my breath away! I was too stunned to say anything when he did it and I had to admit I was happy that nobody was there to see it since we were alone in the gymnasium. He didn't say a word to me after he did it, but his attitude struck me as odd the whole time he was in there with me. Why was he being so helpful? Kaiba never helped anybody and then the teasing? WHAT? I remember the tingling feeling of his arms holding me in his embrace and I swear I could have fainted. He didn't seem to want to let go though and it took every ounce of my dignity to pry myself away and out of his arms. I finally realized what those feelings were. I can't believe I hadn't realized them sooner. I LIKED him. No... I LOVED HIM! Oh my god, kill me, but I love Seto Kaiba. Just imagine Joey finding out? He'll probably have a heart attack!" I stared at the sentence and read it over and over again. "I LOVED HIM!" "So she loves me?" I smiled and turned the page, an eerie calm settling over me and I noticed the heart drawn on the next page with my name etched inside it. I ran my fingers over the girly penmanship wondering what made her do it. How could she love me? She didn't know me, not really. Yet she claimed she did...

"It's been a while since the incident at the gym but Kaiba hasn't looked at me since. It was absolutely annoying to see him do that. Why would he kiss me and then totally ignore me? It's so frustrating! I don't know what to do..." I didn't ignore you, I just wondered what you would think if I approached you again. I didn't know if you liked me or not and you didn't exactly to speak to me either after that. I shook my head and continued to read.

"That's it! I give up. I think I'm actually more frustrated with Kaiba than in love with him. He probably did this to every girl that liked him. Just tease them and then throw them aside! Oh the nerve that boy has!" Anger seethed through her words, amusing me more. And then came the day Joey Wheeler and I dueled.

"If my brother wasn't actually my brother, I'd kill him. He set me up on a date with Kaiba?! Was he out of his mind? And of course Kaiba had to speak about our pride and all that bullshit and now I'm stuck going on a date with him to prove to him we were not cowards. I know Joey is sorry but still...going on a date with him? Yes, I like him. Well, loved him even, but still. The boy had kissed me and hadn't laid eyes on me since. Was this his way at trying to me again? I wish somebody would tell me what to do, but of course, this secret remains between you and me. I guess I'll go with him but I'll be extra careful this time, making sure he doesn't come near me. Hopefully I'll get to see what the real Seto Kaiba was like..."

And then after the date, "I have to say, Kaiba pleasantly surprised me. I actually enjoyed my date. Of course I won't tell anyone that. It wasn't until after our official date that I got to really know him. You might say a bit of alcohol in my system loosened me up and although I'm dying of embarrassment recalling those memories, I loved every second of it. The best touch? He stayed with me through the storm. Kaiba will probably never understand how much that meant to me. To have someone with me through the storm. Mom was always at work while I was young and nobody else was there. Only recently had I moved back and even then, Joey was always outside, usually with Mai or working and so I never bothered him...Anyways, getting back to the date, there were some odd moments where I thought Kaiba was actually a normal human being but then again, Kaiba was Kaiba. I thought one date would decide my feelings for him, getting rid of the conflict going on inside me but now I'm even more confused..."

And then the final entry, earlier tonight. I had to laugh out loud at the writing. There was a whole page of complaints, all about me. And at the very bottom was written in big, bold letters. "IT'S OFFICIAL. I HATE KAIBA!" I read it over and over again and thought about my fierce little dragon...yes that's what I would call her.

I put the notebook aside, careful to hide it in my drawer and lock it and then lay back in bed, smiling. Thoughts of the brown eyed girl flitted through my mind and I found myself unable to sleep.

My alarm buzzed and I woke up groggily from a wonderful dream. Serenity was there and so was Mokuba. The two of them were talking about something and I sat on top of my blue eyes, looking down at them and smiling but then a loud noise started to vibrate throughout and slowly, everything started to vanish. I frowned at my clock as I brought my hand down to shut it off.

"Great. Morning already." I got up and did my usual routine as I got ready for class. Mokuba was already ready by the time I got downstairs and after a quick breakfast, we headed to school. I already had my mind made up. I didn't care the consequences but I would ask Serenity out today.


	15. Chapter 15

Serenity's POV

7 Years Ago

"Serenity?" Tea nudged my shoulder bringing me out of my thoughts for the second time that day.  
"Hmm?" I looked at the brunette who was giving me a funny look.

"What's up with you? I've been calling for forever. Duke is asking you something." Tea pointed at Duke who had his forehead all scrunched together in concern.

"Yeah?" I asked him, dumbly. He rose an eyebrow.

"I was asking when we could go out again?" Tea giggled as the others stopped their conversing and looked at us, shocked.

"Since when are you two going out?" Tea teased and I threw daggers at her and Duke.

"Don't say it like that! People are going to think we are dating or something! It is a friendly outing and that's all!" My cheeks were flushed and Duke, although secretly pleased, looked at me apologetically.

"Oh Serenity, don't be so hard on him. We're just joking." Yugi laughed along with his girlfriend.

"Serenity, are you feeling alright? You seem kind of out of it." Tristan said, concern evident in his voice.  
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just didn't sleep well last night." I thought back to the night I had. After Kaiba left, it was very hard for me to go to sleep. He kept coming back to my thoughts and nothing I did seemed to get him out of my mind. I was still mad at him for standing me up yesterday but I did appreciate the fact that he had stayed behind to keep me company during the storm.

"Sorry Ren, I bet it was the storm." Joey said, looking guilty and I whacked my brother on his arm to make him stop.  
"Be quiet, idiot. I'm sure you and Yugi had a wonderful time cuddling up to each other." Yugi's face turned red and Joey scowled at my implication and it was my turn to laugh. I stopped though when I noticed a familiar tall figure walking into the cafeteria. The others noticed my sudden change in attitude and followed my gaze to Kaiba who seemed to be looking around him. His eyes finally found mine and I saw a smirk creep across his face as he started walking in our direction.

"What is moneybags doing? Why is he coming here?" Joey threw Yugi a look who shrugged and waited for Kaiba. The cafeteria had quieted down as the wannabe's basked in Seto Kaiba's presence. Kaiba walked straight up to me and without a glance at the others, grabbed my hand.

"Hey!" The others and I said in unison as he pulled me up from my seat and brought me close to him. I looked up at him, angry that he would treat me like that in front of everyone. "What's your problem Kaiba? Let me go!" I tried to wriggle out of his grasp as Joey and Tristan yelled at him too. The atmosphere in the room was changing fast, a fight on the brinks of breaking out. Joey stood, his hands in a fist threatening Kaiba to let go of my hand. None of it unfazed Kaiba, who continued to bore his eyes into mine. There was a hint of something in them, as if he knew something that I didn't. What was it?

"You're coming with me." He said and me and the others stared at him, as if he were crazy.

"What the hell? Why would I go with you?" I was convinced Kaiba had totally lost it.

"Because." He pulled me in, closer to him and held my head in place with his other hand. I stared into his eyes as Kaiba leaned in and to my surprise, placed a passionate kiss on my lips. My whole body froze and I ignored the commotion caused when my brother tried to lurch at Kaiba and Duke tackled him down while Tea handled Tristan, but just barely. "You're mine now." Kaiba said as he pulled away, leaving me breathless and immobile. That was the second time Kaiba had stole a kiss from me, but last time it was in private. This time, it was in front of the whole world. I was too surprised to react though. Did Kaiba really just kiss me in front of everyone?

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Get your slimy hands on my Ren!" Joey shouted. Joey's shouting brought me out of daze and I watched as a pair of security guards came rushing into the cafeteria. Crap, this situation was about to get really bad. I pushed myself out of Kaiba's hold and grabbed my brother's hands. Right now, he needed to calm down, or else we would all get in trouble. Joey was shaking with rage at Kaiba but he understood everything I was trying to tell him with my eyes. My senses were all sensitive after Kaiba's kiss but I had to be alert now.

"What seems to be the problem? Why are you shouting young man?" The first officer asked, looking at each of us in turn before settling a stern gaze on my brother. Joey clenched his fists and spoke through his teeth when he answered the officer as politely as he could.

"Nothing officer. Just a friendly argument." Kaiba met my brother's glare with a calm stare. What had Kaiba been thinking? My head exploded with a million thoughts, giving me an instant headache and I turned to the officer, trying to the diffuse the situation further. I looked past him at the other students in the cafeteria who continued to gape at the unexpected turn of events. Some girls even had tears in the eyes. Great, Kaiba had just managed to turn my life into hell.

"Officer, sorry if we caused a disturbance. Really, there is nothing going on here. My brother and his friend are just having a friendly argument." Kaiba was well known through the school and so was Joey and everyone knew they weren't friends. The officer could tell I was lying but there was no way I was allowing my brother or Kaiba to get into trouble.

"Young lady, you'd be wise to advise your friends to behave while on school grounds." The officer said sternly and I bowed in respect, telling her I understood. Kaiba simply looked at the officers as they turned to leave after giving the rest of the group a stern look.

"We got off easy. Joey! Tristan! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Tea scolded. I sighed a breath of relief as I released the grip on my brother's hand. He was still glaring at Kaiba, completely ignoring Tea's words. I followed his gaze to Kaiba who turned to look at me.

"You don't hate me." What? I stared at Kaiba, wondering why he would choose to say something like that. To answer my question, Kaiba reached into his breast pocket and produced a small black notebook. My eyes widened as I recognized the diary in his hand. He held it out to me and I felt a overwhelming rage take over my body. This feeling was more intense than the one from the night before when Kaiba had stood me up. I snatched the notebook from his hand and Joey and the others turned to look at me with a concerned look at my sudden hostility. I wanted to slap Kaiba for invading my privacy, for humiliating me in front of the entire cafeteria, but I held myself back. As much as I wanted to hit Kaiba, I also didn't want to get expelled.

Instead, I dug my nails into Kaiba's arm as I grabbed him and dragged him towards the cafeteria door.

"Serenity! Wait!" Joey was about to follow me but Tea stopped him.

"No Joey! Let her go. This is something Serenity and Kaiba need to work out together..." It sounded odd as Tea stopped Joey from following me and Kaiba out. I would handle Joey later, but now, my rage was focused solely on Kaiba.

After we had barged out of the cafeteria, leaving all the prying eyes behind, I hauled Kaiba to the giant cherry blossom tree out back. It was about to rain, I could smell it in the air but I didn't care. Once I stopped at the tree, I turned towards it, my back to Kaiba and I released my grip on Kaiba's arm. I noticed I was breathing heavily, trying to get my temper under control. I looked at the notebook in my hand and another wave of humiliation surged through me and without a second thought, I swung and smacked Kaiba on his chest with everything I had. Kaiba seemed taken aback by the sudden movement and I brought my hand up a second time to release the pent up anger on him, but he stopped me midway. Instead, he pushed me up against the tree, the bark of the tree digging into my back. I tried to squirm free but I realized it was no use. He was simply stronger.

"Serenity." He said in a calm voice.

"SHUTUP! SHUTUP! SHUTUP!" I yelled at him, angry tears brimming my eyes. I hated being held in place against my will. It only added to the embarrassment I already felt.  
"Okay." Kaiba still held me in place, my hands pinned above my head. We looked into each other's eyes, mine reflecting humiliation and rage whilst his were calm and mysterious. "I'll be quiet if you calm down."  
"How on earth do you expect me to calm down?! You humiliated me Kaiba!" I shouted at him, tears flowing freely now. They were hot against my face as blood coursed through my body. Kaiba just continued to hold me in place, looking at me with his calm eyes. The world around us grew darker as thunder rumbled softly in the sky and raindrops pelted the earth, slowly at first, then picking up the pace. A flash of lightning cracked across the sky and I closed my eyes, clutching the notebook in my hand, directing all my fear towards it.

"Don't be afraid Serenity, I'm here." His voice was so soothing and it worked. Even with my mind filled with hateful thoughts about Kaiba, I loved that he was there. Kaiba's grip on my arms let up a little and my arms fell to my side as he took a step back. The shade of the cherry blossom tree shielded us a little from the rain. The thunder vibrated throughout the sky, visibly shaking everything around us and I looked around us, nervously. Once it died down and I relaxed a little bit, I looked at Kaiba. I had stopped crying and I wiped my face with the back of my hand.

"What was it you said back there in the cafeteria? That I don't hate you? Well if I didn't yesterday, then I promise I do now. You humiliated me and my friends, you stole from me, you stood me up! You did such horrible things. How could you believe I have anything but hate for you in my heart?" I trembled a little bit, allowing my feelings to flow out of me.

"I didn't steal. I borrowed." He said. Was he trying to be funny?

"If you're trying to be funny, it's not working." I seethed at him. Another crack of lightning burst through the sky and I closed my eyes shut again, backing up against the tree, hoping it would protect me from the storm.

"I told you not to be scared. I'm here." Kaiba said again, his hair dripping with water as the rain came down harder. We were both practically soaked through now.

"I'm in this situation because of you." I meant to shout it at him but it came as a whimper. I doubt he even heard me over the rolling thunder.

"Serenity." He said my name with such intensity that I forced my eyes open to look at him, water from the rain clinging to my lashes. He came closer and placed a surprisingly warm hand on my drenched cheek. I looked up at him as I realized my heartbeat sped up. What was this feeling? Sure Kaiba had made me feel nervous before, but this was new. "I'm sorry. I really am. For everything." It was as if I was waiting for that apology. My whole body relaxed as his words settled onto my ears and I processed them in my head. Kaiba leaned in once again, and this time, I allowed him. His cold lips met mine and our argument burst into a passionate kiss. I never knew kissing someone could be that intense. All of my senses were on edge and despite the cold of the rain, the kiss heated my entire body. It was surprising to think that Kaiba's kiss could be so inviting despite what he had just put me through. When he pulled away, I stared at him, partly shocked but also disappointed.

"I told you. You don't hate me." I looked at the notebook which was also wet. He had read through it. I knew he had. Then he also knew how I actually felt about him. It didn't matter what I wrote in it last night because the countless other times I had thought about him and had written it in my diary was the actual truth.

"Kaiba-" I was cut off as Kaiba stole yet another kiss from me, this time his arms coming around my wet body. He pulled me into him, holding me in his warm embrace as our lips locked with each other. I relaxed against him and returned the kiss. It was simple, yet I could feel so much emotion in it. Kaiba was trying to tell me he was sorry and that he needed me. I responded with a passion of my own as my own hands shot up and hooked around his neck, pulling him in even closer. He ended the kiss too quickly, coming up for breath, a smile plastered on his face and for the first time I noticed, his face was flushed.

"Serenity." He whispered my name and I looked up at him shyly. The kiss had done a number on me, my legs felt wobbly and I just wanted to sit down. "I love you." My eyes widened and I didn't care as another flash of lightning lit up the sky. Had I heard right?

"What did you say?" I asked, unintelligently.

"I love you. I guess I have ever since that day you stood up to me on the blimp, but I never realized it until that day in the gym..." He averted my gaze, smiling coyly as he looked at the diary that had dropped to the ground when he had kissed me. I didn't know what to say to him. Kaiba had liked me even longer than I had liked him. Wait, no, he had loved me. Was this real?

"So...I don't care what is written in your diary. I want to hear it from you." His voiced echoed in my mind, drowning out the storm. I stood there, staring at him only to be broken out of my trance as lightning flashed again, illuminating Kaiba's features as it lit up the sky and I looked up, startled. Kaiba saw my fear and held me tighter, nuzzling his chin into the cranny between my neck and shoulder. I relaxed in his embrace, letting his soothing touch protect me.

"I love you too, Kaiba." I had said it. I had finally said it. This time, I pulled away slightly and met Kaiba's piercing blue eyes. His face was close to mine, his hot breath warm on my cold cheeks. I gave him a small smile before claiming his lips and together, we sealed our future. Or at least we thought.


	16. Chapter 16

Author's Note: This update took way too long, I know. Still, I hope you enjoy it as always and please review, favorite, and follow if you like it! 3

Present Day:

Serenity's POV

 _Ring. Ring._ The doorbell continued to ring nonstop as I opened my bleary eyes and looked at the alarm clock sitting idle on the nightstand. The blaring red characters read 5:32 AM.

"Who the…" I grumbled at myself as I pulled on my robe and slipped on my fuzzy slippers and made my way to the door. The storm from earlier continued to rage on outside. A thought struck me and I wondered if it was Kaiba.

Hurrying, I went to the door, opening it to find a huge surprise. There standing on my doorstep stood none other than Duke Devlin, flashing me that sexy smile of his.

"Hey gorgeous. Sorry, did I wake you up?" I stared at him, wondering if I was dreaming.

"Duke…" It had been ages since I'd last seen my friend. Duke smiled even wider setting down his suitcase as he came in for a hug. He caught me by surprise as his strong arms embraced me. "Oh!"

Once I realized it was all real, I laughed and started to hug him back. He squeezed me tight then and picked me up and whirled me around before setting me back down, both our faces flushed as we laughed.

"Look at you, you haven't changed a bit!" Duke said.

"Me? Are you kidding? Forget that, what the hell are you doing here?" I said, still half giggling.

"I'm here to see an old friend and to find a place to crash for the next week or so!" I stared at him, wondering if he was joking. Realizing he was serious, I shook my head and moved aside to let him in.

"You're serious, huh?"

"Yep. Decided I won't be staying in a hotel this time. I haven't seen you in forever Serenity, now hurry and come here." Duke set his luggage down and dipped his hand into the pocket of his slightly damp jacket and pulled out his cellphone.  
"What is it?" I shut the door behind me and walked over to him. Duke grabbed me and pulled me closer to him and for a second, I was engulfed by the scent his strong, but nice cologne. It was weird but Duke smelled exactly like he did back in high school…just a little manlier. Realizing that I was practically sniffing him, I blushed and looked away, suddenly aware of his hand on my waist.

"Serenity, smile!" Just as I looked up, I heard a clicking noise and I watched as Duke's phone camera clicked an ugly picture of me. "One more!" I smiled just in time for the second picture and a grinning Duke immediately started scrolling through his contacts.

"Duke, what on earth are you doing? I'm in my jammies!" Serenity exclaimed.

"Fueling a fire, my love." Serenity watched as he found Tristan's name and pressed send.

"Duke! Honestly? At five in the morning?" It was like no time had passed. Duke and Tristan were still going at it. That childish feud they'd had over me still going on. I shook my head as I took a seat at my couch. Duke took his shoes and jacket off and joined me.

"So, wow, I'm actually here! How have you been Serenity?" He finally settled down and looked over at me, that genuine smile doing its job to melt my heart. I'd always had a soft spot for Duke, much to Tristan's disdain.

"Not bad." I said.

"That's good. How's the lawyer thing going? Kicking ass in court yet?" Duke reached over and started playing with a rubix cube I'd left on the table earlier that week. I tensed up then, wondering how I should answer. No one, not even my family knew about me quitting the law firm. There simply was no way I could tell Duke or anyone that I'd quit my job and had become Kaiba's personal secretary. So I made a quick decision. Duke would only be here for a week at most, and then Joey would come… I just had to play along with them. That's all. Besides, it's not like they'd actually go to my previous employer and enquire about me. And so I lied.

"It's going good. I actually have a few case hearings coming up. Just working on those now." It felt weird to lie to him. His green eyes looked over at me and I felt like they were looking straight through me, making me feel even guiltier.

"I see. Maybe I can sit in on one before I leave." My heart stopped for a second. "I just hope I get some time between work and fun to do that." I let out a breath slowly as Duke winked. "There is a lot of catching up to do but man I'm beat. I've been traveling non-stop since yesterday. You got a place for me to crash or was this always meant to be a five minute surprise visit?" I watched as he stretched and wondered if the guest bedroom was clean enough for him to sleep in.

"I do have a guest bedroom…I just don't know if it's clean."

"Hey no worries, I can always sleep in your bed." I gave him a look as Duke smiled devilishly. "I'd just have to kick you out first." I shook my head at him, unable to hold my smile back. Really, it was just like before. I had to admit, it was nice to have a familiar face that was not full of drama from my past in the mess that was my present.

After I arranged for Duke to sleep, I wished him a goodnight and climbed into my own bed to get the hour and a half of shuteye before I'd have to get up for work.

I woke up to the smell of bacon frying in the morning. For a moment, I thought something was burning and quickly, I got up and ran to my kitchen.

"Serenity! Good! You're up! Come, I made breakfast." There stood Duke, clad in my cherry apron flipping eggs in a frypan like some kind of master chef.

"Duke, you didn't have to…" I trailed off as he brought the plate of bacon near my nose and I took a sniff before he set it back down on the counter.  
"Come on. Grab the plate and the coffee pot and follow me." I did as I was told and followed him to my dining room and sat the things down before taking a seat opposite him.

"I still need to freshen up." I scowled as I tried to put my hand through my bedhead, embarrassed that Duke had seen me like this. _Twice._

"Don't worry Serenity, you look as beautiful as always." His compliment made my heart jump and I looked at him as he happily dug into his breakfast, an automatic smile appearing on my lips as he enjoyed the meal.

After some more conversation and a quick breakfast, I broke away saying I would be late for work and jumped in to take a quick shower. By the time I was ready and was out, Duke was sitting on my couch watching the morning news. He was also dressed in a pair of jeans, a black t-shirt, and a black leather jacket. His hair was gelled up slightly and I had to admit, he looked pretty damn good.

"Ready?" He said as I walked closer.

"Yeah…are you going somewhere?"

"Yeah. I'll drop you to work first and then go to work myself." My eyes grew wide. What was I supposed to do now?

"Oh no, don't worry about it. I can get there, besides morning traffic is horrible, so I'll be taking a train…" I said trying to find a way out.

"Don't worry about it. I'll take the train with you." Unable to thwart him off, I reluctantly agreed for him to come along. I'd just have to come up with something to get him off my tail on my way there, or else he'll find me out.  
He smiled at me broadly as I locked my door and slowly followed him to the elevator. The doorman we passed gave me a funny look and I thought how Duke was allowed upstairs.

The morning outside was still a little cloudy and a low wind blew through the borough of Manhattan, waking up the morning commuters. As promised, traffic backed up most cars and Duke followed me to the train station. I was too lost in thought thinking about a plan of escape to notice the waiting limo outside my apartment building or the blue eyed CEO watching us with hawk eyes.

Seto Kaiba's POV

I woke up earlier than usual and after much debating, I decided to pick Serenity up on my way to work. Besides, we'd be going to the same place.

I was waiting in the car when I noticed her come out. For a moment, I was happy and everything was alright. That was until I saw him with her. I rolled down my window slightly to get a better look as the two walked out together, side by side, smiling. A feeling that was buried deep moved inside me and I realized that I was pressing down hard on the glass of the window. I let it go and sat there more a few more minutes wondering if I should follow them or not…

In the end, my ego won over thankfully and I ignored them as I ordered my chauffer to drive me to work. Still, my mind wandered back to those two, irritating me as I remembered her smiling face. Her smile…He hadn't seen that smile on her face in a while.  
It hurt him when he realized that it wasn't that she didn't know how to smile anymore, just that that smile was never meant for him. Or at least it was at a time…just not anymore.

He barked at anyone who tried to approach him as he walked into his office, much earlier than usual. Susan arched a brow at him as he stalked into his office and took a seat at his desk.

"Everything alright, Mr. Kaiba?"

"Where is Ms. Wheeler? Why isn't she here yet?!" I said.

"She…she's not supposed to be in till nine…same for you sir. You're here early…" Susan looked at Kaiba oddly and he realized that he was allowing her to read him again.

"Whatever…" He avoided her gaze as he opened a file and tried to focus on the morning's business report. Except every five minutes his eyes trailed to the ticking clock on his office wall. 8:40. 8:45. 8:50.

"Sir…is there something you need?" Susan said once again looking at her boss. Kaiba looked over at the woman and shook his head.

"Nothing, since my secretary isn't here, do you mind telling me who my first meeting of the morning will be?"

"Of course, just a moment…" He watched as Susan pulled out her Ipad and started working. He watched the clock tick by as he waited. 8:58.

"Sir, it seems your first meeting was cancelled last night but the receptionist put you down for another client of ours. A Mr….Devlin." Kaiba looked over at Susan sharply as she finished saying the name.

"What did you say?"  
Susan, taken aback by Kaiba's sudden interest, said, "Mr. Duke Devlin, sir. He's requested an emergency meeting with you this morning." Kaiba looked from her to the office clock. 9:00.

"That…" Just as he was about to say it, his phone rang and he reached over to pick it up. "What?"  
"Sir, sorry to disturb you but there is a Mr. Duke Devlin here to see you." Kaiba stared at the clock, wondering if Serenity was with him.

"Send him in." Kaiba replaced the receiver and gave Susan a calm look as he crossed his arms under his chin and placed his elbows on his desk, waiting for Duke to enter.

Both Kaiba and Susan looked up as the knock echoed through his large cabin and in walked Duke Devlin.

Kaiba's cold blue eyes met Duke's lively green ones and it was as if no time had passed between their last encounter at all as Duke walked closer to Kaiba. Duke was the first to look away, smirking as he looked around the room.

"Nostalgic much, Mr. Kaiba?" His eyes came to rest on Kaiba's again as Kaiba continued to glare at him, remembering Serenity's smiling face.

"What are you doing here?" Kaiba lowered his hands and sat back in his seat, still keeping his eyes on Duke.  
"I needed to see you in regards to your new duel disk prototype. It seems to be acting up with the gaming system I designed for Dungeon Dice Monsters." Duke said seriously, yet somehow maintaining his carefree attitude as he continued to smile at Kaiba. Kaiba knew that look all too well. As if he knew something that Kaiba didn't, except this time, Duke was wrong. Kaiba _did_ know.

"Oh is that so? Why come yourself then? Why not send one of your minions?" Duke ignored Kaiba's comment as Susan's phone suddenly rang, interrupting them.

They watched as the African American girl walked to a corner to receive the phone call and after a quick, hushed conversation, she walked back.

"Sorry, Mr. Kaiba, that was Serenity. She said she'll be a little late." Kaiba watched as Duke's devilish smirk disappeared, replaced by a confused frown.

"Wait, sorry, what did you say?" Kaiba wanted to laugh. He wanted to shove it in Duke Devlin's face but he knew better.

"I…Mr. Kaiba's secretary…" Susan looked from their client to her boss, confused.

"Serenity?" Duke looked from Susan to Kaiba. Kaiba could see the calculations going on inside of Duke's mind. Serenity? Was it the same Serenity? But how? What are the chances of it being a coincidence?

"What happened, Duke? Cat got your tongue?" Duke had lost his cool and Kaiba could see it. He looked at Duke calmly, remaining seated as he watched his trump card trump Duke.

"Kaiba, what's going on? Serenity…she's…that's not possible." Kaiba slowly stood up and walked around his desk, meeting Duke face to face. The two men stared at each other.

"You're precious friend didn't tell you? She works for me now." The look on Duke's face made Kaiba's morning anguish seem worthwhile.

"What the hell-" Just then the door swung open and in walked an out of breath Serenity.


End file.
